Death in the Downline was a formulaic mystery that tried to blend social commentary about the reNote: an eARC of this book was acquired via .
Death in the Downline was a formulaic mystery that tried to blend social commentary about the real-world predatory effects of MLMs with a whodunit murder, and it missed on both counts. I got more behind-the-scenes information on MLMs from both and Selling the Dream: The Billion-Dollar Industry Bankrupting Americans, so Abrams's info-dumping on how shady and underhanded downlines can be ended up taking up space that should have been devoted to better backstory and character development. I also kept waiting (hoping) for the murder element to go somewhere besides a rather boring Scooby Doo-esque reveal that had little to do with MLMs.
Spoiler, but (view spoiler)[I really wanted the "I think this product is poisoning people!" plotline to go somewhere other than just "this product is literally poisoning people!" To have the murder stem from a failed money-laundering scheme just felt so lame compared to something like Lakewood or The Stepford Wives. Like, a mind control conspiracy could have really livened things up! (hide spoiler)]...more
Wow! Good Girl, Bad Blood was so much better than its predecessor, A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, either because I wasn't constantly comparing it Wow! Good Girl, Bad Blood was so much better than its predecessor, A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, either because I wasn't constantly comparing it to the TV adaptation I had just watched or because I listened to the full-cast audiobook. Although Pip still feels like a fictional wunderkind in her ability to solve mysteries, I still quite enjoyed the book and am looking forward to the next (audio) book in the series!...more
A quick read balancing family and gentrification with ghosts. I love Escabasse's illustration style, but I did enjoy her Witches of Brooklyn way more.A quick read balancing family and gentrification with ghosts. I love Escabasse's illustration style, but I did enjoy her Witches of Brooklyn way more....more
The Duke Gets Even was an average romance with a somewhat predictable plot, repetitive writing, and anachronistic characters. I read this for a book cThe Duke Gets Even was an average romance with a somewhat predictable plot, repetitive writing, and anachronistic characters. I read this for a book club and, although it wasn’t as terrible as the first chapter led me to believe, Joanna Shupe is not an author I will revisit.
I sincerely wonder if Shupe started writing this when Alito's majority opinion in Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health had been leaked. Not that I don't believe an unmarried, wealthy white woman couldn't have been having copious amounts of (good) sex while promoting contraception and woman's bodily autonomy in the late nineteen century, shoehorning 21st mores into an otherwise average (and incredibly white) romance wasn't it....more
Having never seen Sleepless in Seattle nor read a B.K. Borison novel, First-Time Caller was a faNote: an eARC of this book was acquired via .
Having never seen Sleepless in Seattle nor read a B.K. Borison novel, First-Time Caller was a fantastic introduction to both. Overall, I really liked Borison's writing and the central plot of the book. ((view spoiler)[E.g. Lucie could have easily had a very believable romance with Colin, but I appreciated the internal third-act break-up between her and Aiden more than if Lucie were torn between two guys. (hide spoiler)]) The secondary characters* all had believable motivations for going along with "Lucie's Road to Love," which made everything feel more grounded with realistic stakes. Peacefully co-parenting? Completely doable. Feeling burned out at your job? Been there. Having little to no social life because you're a parent? Seems about right.
Although I think Lucie could have been in her early to mid-30s and still realistically had little to no experience with relationships (imo anyone becoming a parent before 25 feels young ...more
Cascade Failure was a delightful lil found-family space adventure combining the corrupt bureaucratic shenanigans of Leviathan Wakes (a book I haveCascade Failure was a delightful lil found-family space adventure combining the corrupt bureaucratic shenanigans of Leviathan Wakes (a book I have read) with the coziness in The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (a book I have not). Although weighed down by the many POV shifts and a tenuous, barely there will they ... ? romance, this was a surprisingly fast read for those who don't want super heavy sci-fi....more
Class Act was somewhat of a disappointment after loving Rodkey's A Disaster in Three Acts. I expected more romance or even a coherent through-lineClass Act was somewhat of a disappointment after loving Rodkey's A Disaster in Three Acts. I expected more romance or even a coherent through-line, but the plot felt muddled among too many directions: Ella's frustration with thinking her parents prioritize their restaurant over their children; her misguided protectiveness over and for her younger sibling; her fake relationship with (and real feelings for) Patrick; a rekindled friendship with Stevie, a former classmate addicted to social media; a subplot involving Patrick's dad's true motivations in interfering in the student council elections....
While a quick read, it just felt like there was little happening over the 300+ pages. Even though Rodkey made great observations about working with others towards a greater goal, the way in which she did fell flat....more
For a book I randomly picked up, Take Me Home wasn’t bad, but I didn’t love it either. Sweeney is a good writer, and she made this book feel bursting For a book I randomly picked up, Take Me Home wasn’t bad, but I didn’t love it either. Sweeney is a good writer, and she made this book feel bursting with *stuff*, but it varied between plot developing-action and dull minutiae. I both understood how Hazel’s feelings for Ash were changing in real-time and then rolled my eyes at how quickly their relationship moved from annoyed, bickering acquaintances to “I love yous�. (Though maybe I just didn’t like Ash’s POV? Or the fact that it felt like he was trying to win Hazel over through overexposure? Idk)
The side plots for both characters ended up being quite serious in places, and the whole thing was tinged with more “oh, right, they’re 23" thoughts than I would have liked....more
I very much adored this and found that, of all the possible endings, Gramazio chose a good one. I don't think The Husbands is for everyone, but for thI very much adored this and found that, of all the possible endings, Gramazio chose a good one. I don't think The Husbands is for everyone, but for those willing to suspend their disbelief, it was such a delightfully strange book about life and love and what ifs. Pairs well with Dolly Alderton's Ghosts and Monica Heisey's Really Good, Actually, both of which are novels about the interior lives of their thirty-something English protagonists....more
Although The Bromance Book Club gets a little something extra for being the first book in the series (and thus my first introduction to Nashville'Although The Bromance Book Club gets a little something extra for being the first book in the series (and thus my first introduction to Nashville's Bros), Undercover Bromance was a worthwhile contribution to what I hope will be a long series. (The third book, Crazy Stupid Bromance, has already been announced and omg this girl is EXCITED.) I enjoyed the annoyed-to-lovers arc of Mack and Liv much more than the married-on-the-rocks arc given to Gavin and Thea, but perhaps that's just because I enjoy reading about two people without a romantic history falling in love more than I do a couple rekindling their romance. (See also my enjoyment of Fix Her Up over Love Her or Lose Her.)
Undercover Bromance dips its toe into heavy shit in a way that I don't remember Bromance Book Club doing, though: workplace sexual assault and harassment, domestic/spousal abuse, and victim-blaming, as well as some less-than-great alpha-male behavior (from our beloved Mack, too ...more
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