This is book 2 in The Crinoline Academy series featuring the Benevolent Academy for the Betterment of Young Ladies, a school that trains orphan girls to distract, disrupt, and discredit men in power who would seek to harm the advancement of women.
Continue reading “The Marriage Method (The Crinoline Academy #2) by Mimi Matthews”
This is a twisty thriller that is creepy in the best sense. The book starts out slowly and builds tension until the crazy ending. Fran is a journalist that lets her ambition override her common sense. A reclusive artist choses her to take his first interview since the death of his wife. He lives on a secluded estate with spotty cell service, which automatically cues get-the-heck-outta-there vibes. Then Fran gets an anonymous message telling her he’s lying to you, get out while you can. Rather than follow this advice, she presses on. Mistake. Big mistake! Then he suggests they go hunting in the woods and she agrees. Seriously?! (face palm)
Continue reading “Tiny Wild Things”
3.5 stars rounded up
Claire’s older sister Natalie was killed just after her 18th birthday and a man was arrested and sentenced to prison. Claire tries to deal with it by moving to another city and becoming an investigative journalist. She’s not close with her mom, but when her dad tells Claire that her mother injured herself and needs her help, she reluctantly returns home. But, Claire’s mom doesn’t want her there and Claire finds herself drawn to the old vineyard where Natalie worked the summer she died. She stumbles upon a job at the vineyard working with a handsome foreman. She finds an old diary written by one of the vineyard owners hidden in the cabin she’s staying in. Initially it seems like a young rebellion and love, but the more Claire reads, the more sinister the writing becomes. Claire starts to wonder if her sister’s murder is tied somehow to the old events at the vineyard, and whether the right killer is in prison.
Continue reading “Forget Me Not by Stacey Willingham”
This was a slow-burn mystery that occurs over the course of a day-long sweet sixteen birthday party for Sophie, with flashbacks involving almost the entire cast of characters. The mansion high on the hill towering over the town has always been the source of curiosity. The main characters are:
DANI: Sophie’s new stepmother who’s been plagued by self-doubt ever since the birth of her own baby girl
ÓRLAITH: the superstitious Irish nanny who senses a looming danger in this cavernous house
MIKAYLA: the birthday girl’s best friend who is not nearly as meek as the popular kids assume
KIM: the cunning ex-wife who has a grudge she can’t let go of . . .
Continue reading “Party of Liars by Kelsey Cox”
This is a fast-paced YA thriller that kept my attention from page 1. Greta is our unreliable narrator looking for a fresh start after an unfortunate “incident” at her prior school makes her an outcast. The author drips hints about the “incident” throughout most of the book and we don’t get the full picture until close to the end. It definitely makes the reader speculate what could have happened and I confess, I thought of worse things the “incident” could have been other than what it ended up being. I mean, the precipitating thing is awful, don’t get me wrong, but her response wasn’t so bad….was it? Eh. Maybe I’m just getting a big jaded and vengeful in my “old” age and believing more in karma for a**holes. But I digress.
Continue reading “Difficult Girls by Veronica Bane”
I didn’t read the first book in this series, but I didn’t feel lost while reading this one. Eleanor is a best-selling author and has just finished wrapping up a movie of her latest novel. It stars her best friend Emma, who is engaged to her leading man and getting married after the film wraps. The entire cast and crew are invited to the wedding on Catalina Island, just as a storm develops that will hit the island. As the wedding weekend gets underway, Eleanor discovers a dead body. This sets the guests in a panic and overstretches the one police officer still on the island.
Continue reading “No One Was Supposed to Die at This Wedding by Catherine Mack”
I didn’t know going into this book that it was inspired by The Godfather, but now that I know it, I can totally see it. Roman is a successful financial consultant in Atlanta and is summoned to his small hometown of Jefferson Run after his father’s car accident. It’s a run-down, crime riddled town in central Virginia that’s run by gangs. He finds out that his younger brother Dante is in debt to dangerous criminals that he needs to clean up. His his sister, Neveah, is exhausted from holding the family—and the family crematorium business—together.
Continue reading “King of Ashes by S.A. Cosby”
Thank you so much to Berkley Publishing for the gifted e-copy of this book. It comes out tomorrow April 29, 2025, so it’s the perfect time to pick it up! I just started the book and I’m already hooked. Check back later for my full review.
Here’s the blurb:
What would you do if you thought your coworker was getting away with murder—literally?
Continue reading “Book Feature – Serial Killer Games by Kate Posey”
I can’t believe this is the author’s debut. The story immediately caught my attention and hours flew by as I kept turning the pages. The book is fast paced and is keeping me guessing about who to trust. The book is told from two POVs and I can’t tell if the narrators are unreliable or not. It’s hard to tell who the good and bad guys are. I mean, almost everyone is a pretty awful person in one way or another. Just when I thought the book was about one thing, it took a dark turn into something completely different. I felt like I was being strung along and just when I think I have it figured out, had the rug pulled out from under me. This is what made it a fun book to read and one you should check out.
Continue reading “See How They Fall by Rachel Paris”
Nerd Girl Loves Books 