Category: books and reading

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book.

I loved Darling Rose Gold and was excited to read another from this author. I had no idea what to expect, since DRG isn’t really a thriller, but this book was pretty good.

Alfred owns a Hitchcock-themed hotel and has invited his five college friends to stay for a weekend getaway. They are unaware that Alfred is up to nefarious deeds. He has great plans for revenge.

As the story progresses, we learn that the six friends had a major falling-out in their senior year of college, with Alfred bearing the brunt of the trauma. Alfred has an idea of who he most wants to suffer. But halfway through the book, the plot is turned upside down.

This book was a lot of fun. I’m not a big Hitchcock fan, but that didn’t lessen my enjoyment of the book. It was still a great thriller.

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book.

I’ve read a bit from this author as a co-writer with An Anonymous Girl and The Golden Couple, but I find her solo work so much better. I really enjoyed Gone Tonight and thought this book was outstanding. I was pleasantly surprised by how I was left guessing.

Stella is an attorney who decides what is in a child’s best interests in custody dispute cases. Her newest case is for Rose, whose nanny recently died. It appears that the nanny took her own life; however, Stella has doubts. Rose’s parents are getting divorced, and it is Stella’s job to recommend who Rose should live with. Oh, and Rose has traumatic mutism. She can nod, shake her head, and write notes, but won’t speak.

As Stella gets to know the family, she also has to figure out what really happened to the nanny, since knowing if it was a suicide or murder would mean a lot for Rose’s placement. The author did a great job of revealing information about the nanny’s death, leaving the reader to wonder what really happened. I thought this one was really great.

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book.

Another excellent SCYTHE book, following A Grim Reaper’s Guide to Catching a Killer. Although this one is a standalone book, having read the first one does help with world-building purposes. But the characters are entirely different this time around.

Nora works for SCYTHE as a folder distributor. She reads a folder’s cause of death, then sends out the correct collection agent. However, when she sees her twin, Charlie’s, folder, she has to act to save him. She, Charlie, and his bird, Jessica, end up on the run.

The trio ends up in their father’s hometown of Virgo Bay, but nothing is as it seems. Their family is hiding a major secret. Nora, riddled with anxiety, and Charlie, a free spirit, see things very differently. Much like the first in the series, this book was a ton of fun. Great dialogue, clever story, and I loved it as much as the first. Definitely recommend these.

Thank you, NetGalley, for this book.

I’m a big fan of science fiction set in our actual world. A dose of fantasy, a pinch of magical realism, and I’m good. However, this book just didn’t come together for me, even though the concept was great.

Alex is a young girl when the Mass Dragoning happens in 1955. Over 600,000 women turn into dragons and fly away. Some stay and try to continue living their lives, since they can still speak, but most take to the skies, leaving their families behind. Alex’s aunt is one of those women, so Alex’s family takes her daughter, Beatrice, in as their own. All things dragon have become taboo, so even though Alex is brilliant, she’s very much in the dark about dragons, the women, and the situation in general.

As Alex ages, her mother dies, and her father practically abandons her and Beatrice, leaving Alex to fend for herself while managing Beatrice, who is dragon-obsessed. I wanted to love this book because the story was beautiful, but I was just bored a lot of the time. I wish Alex’s childhood were about half the book and her adulthood the other half, but it was all childhood.