3.5 stars This was so unique! I'm not usually the biggest fan of cozy mysteries, but I love that this is a cozy mystery novella with a sci-fi twist! It3.5 stars This was so unique! I'm not usually the biggest fan of cozy mysteries, but I love that this is a cozy mystery novella with a sci-fi twist! It takes place in space, and we follow a fun cast of characters. I love the sci-fi elements of this story; it made it so much more fun. Our main character wakes up in a body that isn't hers, and she has to try and solve the mystery of these mysterious deaths happening on the ship. This is the first book in a new series, which is so fun!
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Closer to a 2.5 Sadly, this was just not the book for me. I'm not the biggest fan of cozy mysteries, and there were so many characters in this book, itCloser to a 2.5 Sadly, this was just not the book for me. I'm not the biggest fan of cozy mysteries, and there were so many characters in this book, it was kind of confusing me at times.
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Wow, this was such a thought provoking read. I love reading books about writers, and I loved following this character and getting in her head. I lovedWow, this was such a thought provoking read. I love reading books about writers, and I loved following this character and getting in her head. I loved the conversation about writing books, and why trigger warnings are necessary, and how do we write about women without writing about their body? There were so many great feminist themes in this book that I really appreciated. The ending lost me a little bit, the tone of the book changes and it didn't really work for me, but this is definitely a new favorite and something I'm still thinking about weeks after finishing it.
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Ahhh, this was so fun and twisty!! Finally, a thriller that reminds me why I still read thrillers. I went into this with pretty low expectations, but Ahhh, this was so fun and twisty!! Finally, a thriller that reminds me why I still read thrillers. I went into this with pretty low expectations, but this ended up being such a good time! I love stories like this where we are following a character who is getting obsessed with another person. This thriller is so fast paced and soooooo readable, it's one you can easily binge in one or two sittings. I think this author does such a great job at misdirection, and tricking the reader, and there were a few surprises I didn't see coming and I loved that!
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3.5 stars This book started off soooo strong I thought for sure it could be a five star for me. I adored the romance and the tension between these two 3.5 stars This book started off soooo strong I thought for sure it could be a five star for me. I adored the romance and the tension between these two characters! I love stories that follow authors, and I love how she writes cozy mysteries, and he writes thrillers. I love that Maggie is a Capricorn, and there are so many things about her I found relatable. However, once the mystery was introduced in the story, I started losing interest a little bit. I do see the comparison to Knives Out, but I think the mystery is not nearly as interesting, and I was way more invested in the romance. The ending was just okay.
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3.5 stars I love the concept for this book so much! A bunch of passengers who board a plane, and then the "death lady" goes around telling people when 3.5 stars I love the concept for this book so much! A bunch of passengers who board a plane, and then the "death lady" goes around telling people when and how they're going to die! Such a unique and interesting concept. There was so much about this book that I loved, I love books like this where characters have to ponder their mortality and find out information about their lives like this, it's so fascinating. I think the chapters from the "death lady" were actually some of my least favorite, I was much more invested in the chapters from the passengers. The pacing was a little slow at times, I don't think this needed to be 500+ pages, but the ending was so strong and so good.
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3.5 stars This was such a fun thriller! It had great island stormy vibes, and short chapters, and lots of interesting characters! This reminded me a lo3.5 stars This was such a fun thriller! It had great island stormy vibes, and short chapters, and lots of interesting characters! This reminded me a lot of Agatha Christie, Knives Out, and Clue. I think some of the plot twists toward the end were pretty surprising, but the ending did get a little convoluted. I'm so impressed this is a debut thriller, this story has so many layers and I love how twisty and atmospheric the book was. I'll definitely read more from this author in the future.
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Ahhhh, I loved this so much more than I thought I would. This story is such a slow burn, but I really connected with the protagonist and the writing sAhhhh, I loved this so much more than I thought I would. This story is such a slow burn, but I really connected with the protagonist and the writing style and the concept is fascinating!!! The Centre is this mysteriously place where you can pay a price to learn a new language within 10 days, but it’s very private and hush hush and invite only. I love weird stories like this with a unique concept. The writing was so freaking good, there were so many great quotes about language and translation and why it matters so much. This book was also packed full of great social commentary like this:
“gratitude and admiration when a white person speaks a non-white language, and only contempt and indignation for non-white people who don’t speak English�
I loved the discussion about female friendships and how friendships can be just as important as romantic relationships even though they are never celebrated in the same way. This quote about friendships: “the slow burning love of female friendship keeps the world turning� just really meant a lot to me.
I was really moved by so many thought provoking quotes like this:
“There can be something quite devastating in feeling a comfort you can barely remember. It can make you grieve, if I’m honest, for something that you’d always felt a vague sense of loss over but never know for certain you were missing.�
This book was exactly the kind of weird I like in my horror books, it had great atmosphere. I think if you enjoyed Catherine House or Natural Beauty, I would put those in the same category as this book! ...more
I probably should've just DNF'ed this one. The beginning started out so strong, but then after the first 20% I got so bored with this story. This bookI probably should've just DNF'ed this one. The beginning started out so strong, but then after the first 20% I got so bored with this story. This book is supposed to be a horror book, but it reads much more like a police procedural mystery, and the POV of our protagonist who is a detective really started to bore me after a while. I think this author was trying to do too much with all the different tropes crammed into the second half of this book.
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2.5 stars I'm not really the biggest fan of cozy mysteries of this kind, or whodunnit murder mysteries. I always think I'll be into it, and then I get 2.5 stars I'm not really the biggest fan of cozy mysteries of this kind, or whodunnit murder mysteries. I always think I'll be into it, and then I get soooo incredibly bored. So, this is definitely no fault of the book, the book was fine, and I think if you like Agatha Christie classic whodunnit feel type of mysteries, you'd probably love this! It just wasn't for me.
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3.75 This surprised me a lot! I had a fun time with this, I love thrillers that focus on mother/daughter relationships and this one was especially inte3.75 This surprised me a lot! I had a fun time with this, I love thrillers that focus on mother/daughter relationships and this one was especially interesting because they hadn't spoken to each other in 2 years. I liked that we got both the mother and daughter's POV's and that we go back and forth after she has survived this plane crash and she's trying to survive in the wilderness. It was very action packed with short chapters and easy to fly through! Some of the ending lost me a little bit, it had a few tropes I typically don't enjoy in thrillers, but otherwise, this one was super interesting and a fun time!
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I don't typically love thrillers where we follow a detective POV, but this book had multiple POV's which kept it interesting. I was very fascinated byI don't typically love thrillers where we follow a detective POV, but this book had multiple POV's which kept it interesting. I was very fascinated by Ellie's chapters which were taking place in the past, and I liked alternating timelines between the past and the present day after she returns. There were some things I really loved about this book, but unfortunately, I found it to be just okay. The writing style was so repetitive and clunky at times -- it just didn't flow very naturally, and while I appreciated some of the social commentary, some of it was just sooooo on the nose. The ending was also a little far-fetched for me.
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Sadly, this thriller ended up being so boring and forgettable for me. I liked the jumping back and forth between timelines and POV's, but there were sSadly, this thriller ended up being so boring and forgettable for me. I liked the jumping back and forth between timelines and POV's, but there were so many characters to keep track of it got a little confusing. I didn't particularly connect with either one of the sisters, and the reveals weren't very shocking either. I read this for Reese's book club pick and I think I've come to the realization that we have completely opposite taste when it comes to her thriller picks.
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This started off so promising, I love thrillers that involve weddings, and I was loving the atmosphere at the start of this book. But I quickly lost iThis started off so promising, I love thrillers that involve weddings, and I was loving the atmosphere at the start of this book. But I quickly lost interest in the story, and why did this book feel like it should've ended like 3 different times? The ending just drags on and on and on and I was so over it by that point. The main character was also driving me nuts at certain parts in the story, like why was he such a grouch about certain things???
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I'm so glad I enjoyed this book as much as I did. I loved the friendship between Billie and Cassie, it was so fascinating to read about. I've always bI'm so glad I enjoyed this book as much as I did. I loved the friendship between Billie and Cassie, it was so fascinating to read about. I've always been a big fan of reading about toxic female friendships, and this book definitely had that. I also really connected with Billie in this book, and the way she talked about how she doesn't want children. I think as far as a mystery thriller goes, there wasn't anything super shocking in this story for me, it was mostly predictable. But I really connected with the characters in this book a lot so that's why I enjoyed it so much.
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3.5 stars This was a fun time! I'm a huge fan of the nanny gone wrong trope, and I feel like this book did something totally different and unexpected w3.5 stars This was a fun time! I'm a huge fan of the nanny gone wrong trope, and I feel like this book did something totally different and unexpected with that trope! I really loved the New York atmosphere in this book and the slightly creepy atmosphere too. I thought the pacing in the middle started to drag a little bit, but the ending definitely picked up! There were a few plot twists at the end, some of them I saw coming, but some I didn't! I would definitely recommend this one, it's so fast paced with short chapters, the perfect book to get you out of a slump and easy to finish in one or two sittings! Very hard to put down, that's for sure.
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Giving this book only 3 stars kills me because I was such a huge fan of The Writing Retreat, it's one of my all-time favorite thrillers, so I was HIGHGiving this book only 3 stars kills me because I was such a huge fan of The Writing Retreat, it's one of my all-time favorite thrillers, so I was HIGHLY anticipating this one. And this one started off so promising. There's something so distinct about this author's writing, and I love her 'voice' in her books, I instantly connect with the writing. I was invested at the beginning, I was loving the desert vibes in this book, and it was reminding me of some of my favorite things like The Book of the Most Precious Substance, The Silent Patient, and The White Lotus.
I was LOVING this book and thinking it would be five stars for me, until we reached part 3. Idk, the last third of this book just felt so repetitive and it was losing me. I thought the ending was starting to get over the top and ridiculous in a way that just didn't really work for me. This book is also such a slow burn, and it takes such a long time for the plot to get really interesting, it's a lot of repetitive scenes at this place in New Mexico.
I will still read anything from this author, I love her writing style, but this one sadly isn't a new favorite. Thanks to Atria Books for sending me an ARC!
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