en-US Fri, 04 Apr 2025 14:26:42 -0700 60 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg 221060856
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Just for the Summer comes a new playful yet deeply emotional contemporary romance.

There might be no such a thing as a perfect guy, but Xavier Rush comes disastrously close. A gorgeous veterinarian giving Greek god vibes—all while cuddling a tiny kitten? Immediately yes. That is until Xavier opens his mouth and proves that even sculpted gods can say the absolute wrong thing. Like, really wrong. Of course, there’s nothing Samantha loves more than proving an asshole wrong��

. . . unless, of course, he can admit he made a mistake. But after one incredible and seemingly endless date—possibly the best in living history—Samantha is forced to admit the truth, that her family is in crisis and any kind of relationship would be impossible. Samantha begs Xavier to forget her. To remember their night together as a perfect moment, as crushing as that may be.

Only no amount of distance or time is nearly enough to forget that something between them. And the only thing better than one single perfect memory is to make a life—and even a love—worth remembering.]]> Abby Jimenez Jayme 5 Audible : 4.56 2025
author: Abby Jimenez
name: Jayme
average rating: 4.56
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2025/04/04
date added: 2025/04/04
shelves: rom_com, romance, favorite-a-author, library
review:
Audible :
]]> 220999770 Ten years after a teenage girl’s disappearance, a bizarre confession breaks open the cold case in dangerous ways…and threatens to tear apart her small Wisconsin town all over again in the masterfully twisty new psychological suspense novel from the internationally bestselling author of��Twenty Years Later.

For fans of Riley Sager, Anna Downes, Alex Finlay, Stacy Willingham, and Karin Slaughter.
�� Ten years ago, 17-year-old high school volleyball star Callie Jones vanished from her quiet Wisconsin lake community. Her body was never found, and the case went cold, but the echoes of Callie’s disappearance still linger.��

On the tenth anniversary, Ethan Hall—a former renegade detective turned doctor—is tapped to re-open the case. Ethan left law enforcement to escape his demons. But when his old partner makes a death-bed request to get the case off his conscience, Ethan reluctantly agrees to re-examine the evidence.

Word soon spreads and everyone in the small town of Cherryview feels a rush of hope that answers will finally be found. No one is more invested than Lindsay Larkin, Callie’s high school best friend. Now a psychologist and the architect behind a wildly successful online counseling platform called The Anonymous Client, Lindsay has publicly and relentlessly pursued the truth about what happened to Callie.

Amid a��sweltering heatwave, and just as Ethan’s investigation gains momentum, a new client signs in to Lindsay’s online portal and makes a devastating anonymous “I killed Callie Jones, and I need your help to forgive myself.��

Lindsay’s business and reputation depend upon keeping her clients�� privacy, so she funnels scant clues to Ethan hoping he’ll pick up the trail. But when Ethan’s investigation leads to another missing woman, he realizes there’s more to Callie’s disappearance than anyone imagined, including ties to his own dark past that some are willing to kill for . . .]]> 352 Charlie Donlea 1496753968 Jayme 0 4.57 2025
author: Charlie Donlea
name: Jayme
average rating: 4.57
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/04
shelves: mystery-suspense, netgalley, currently-reading, buddy-read
review:

]]> 220145653 Set in 1960s Maine, a witty, twisty murder mystery following a young woman who just wishes��something interesting would happen . . . until she stumbles across a crime of passion.




"What are the chances of receiving a love letter, engagement ring, and phone call for a stranger, only to see her murdered the next day?��

It’s 1964 in the tiny town of Eastport, Maine, and Billie McCadie��is bored to death. She’s surrounded by dull people with more manners than��sense, and no sign of the intrigue or��romance that fills her beloved novels.��That is, until an engagement ring and cryptic love letter turn up, addressed to��'Gertrude'. Until she meets yacht-club handsome Avery Webster. Until��the unsettling��phone calls and visits from a man in a fedora begin. Until she's one of the��last people to see Gertrude alive . . . and the first to see her dead.

What follows is an intoxicating cocktail of stalking, blackmail, Jell-O salads,��and champagne secrets, all served along the rocky Maine coastline. Everyone is��a suspect. Everyone has a��secret. And (strangely) everyone has a boat. But who��is willing to kiss and tell?��As the body count rises and��the danger nears, why does Billie feel like she’s more than just a��side��character? After yearning to be in the action for so long, would it be terribly unladylike��to have some fun of her own?

A love letter to uncivilized behavior, Etiquette for Lovers and Killers blends mystery and romance into a witty, twisty, murderous delight that��aches for better��manners.]]> Anna Fitzgerald Healy 0593719654 Jayme 0 3.00 2025
author: Anna Fitzgerald Healy
name: Jayme
average rating: 3.00
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/03
shelves: to-read, maybe, widget-received
review:

]]> 218968786 A missing husband, a sister acting sus, and a tantalizing tangle of lies—well, there goes Remi’s plan for a chill Halloween.

Remi and her sisters, Maeve and Eliana, have a knack for stumbling into murder mysteries. And after a killer family camping trip last year, they’re back together for a Halloween they’ll never forget.

Remi is living her best life in Seattle until Eliana’s husband, Chad, who refused to sign their divorce papers, disappears on the spookiest night of the year. Eliana swears she has no idea where he is, though her obvious motive and weird behavior don’t really weigh in her favor. Nor does the severed finger they find in his house��

Torn between loyalty to her sister and mounting suspicions she can’t ignore, Remi and her boyfriend, Leo, embark on a manhunt to find Chad—or the rest of him. But the further Remi digs into Chad’s movements on Halloween, the more trouble she finds. With a ruthless detective on their tail, threatening texts, a mysterious hard drive, and dubious legal advice from a kooky aunt, the Finch sisters are in over their head. But Remi is determined to prove her sister’s innocent, even though the bloody evidence points right at her.]]> Amelia Diane Coombs 1662522762 Jayme 0 to-read 5.00 2025
author: Amelia Diane Coombs
name: Jayme
average rating: 5.00
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 215362027 A woman dives into her husband's memories to uncover a decades-old feud threatening reality itself in this staggering technothriller from the bestselling author of Ascension.

Maggie Webb has lived the last decade caring for elderly husband, Stanley, as memory loss gradually erases all the beautiful moments they created together. It's the loneliest she's ever felt in her life.

When a mysterious stranger named Hassan appears at her door, he reveals a shocking truth: Stanley isn't losing his memories. Someone is actively removing them to hide a long-buried secret from coming to light. If Maggie does what she's told, she can reverse it. She can get her husband back.

Led by Hassan and his technological marvels, Maggie breaks into her husband's mind, probing the depths of his past in an effort to save him. The deeper she dives, the more she unravels a mystery spanning continents and centuries, each layer more complex than the last.

But Hassan cannot be trusted. Not just memories are disappearing, but pieces of reality itself. If Maggie cannot find out what Stanley did all those years ago, and what Hassan is after now, she risks far more than her husband's life. The very course of human history hangs in the balance.]]> 384 Nicholas Binge 0593852168 Jayme 0 to-read 4.16 2025
author: Nicholas Binge
name: Jayme
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 218154423 A dysfunctional book club must pull together when one of their members goes missing in this bighearted new mystery from the USA Today bestselling author of Nosy Neighbors.

The five members of the St. Tredock Book Club disagree on everything, from the books they read to the biscuits they eat. But when one of the group suddenly disappears and a dead body is discovered at his house, these bibliophiles must put their differences aside to solve the mystery.

Having recently moved to Cornwall, Nova Davies started the book club to impress her new colleagues at the community center, but so far it’s a disaster. To make matters worse, six thousand pounds is stolen from the community center during one of her meetings, putting both her job and the whole center at risk.

Suspicion for the theft falls on book club member Michael, especially when a dead body is discovered at his house and Michael disappears. The police think he’s simply run away, but the other members have their own theories. Agatha Christie superfan Phyllis is determined to prove he’s a murderer as well as a thief, while secret romance reader Arthur believes Michael’s eloped with his mistress, and teenage sci-fi fan Ash thinks dark forces are at play.

While trying to find Michael and recover the money, each book club member has their own secrets to protect. With inspiration from their favorite fictional sleuths, they won’t rest until they’ve cracked the case and everyone is safe at home where they belong.]]> 384 Freya Sampson 0593550560 Jayme 4
Nova Davies has recently moved to Cornwall, and she really needs this fresh start and her new job to work out so she starts the St. Tredock Book Club to impress her boss Sandy-but so far it’s been a “less than impressive�� beginning.

There are only 5 members, including herself, in the club, and rounding out the group are :

Arthur, an Octogenarian who gets around town on his tractor and reads romance novels to his wife who has lost her sight.

Ash, a shy teenager who hopes to impress his secret crush.

Micheal, the newest member, who is a mystery to the others so far.

And, (scene stealer) Phyllis, -a wannabe “Miss Marple�� who knows every one of those Agatha Christie stories forward and backwards, and never leaves home without her elderly, arthritic English bulldog named Craddock.

The book opens with a delightful book club scene where the members are discussing “Where the Crawdads. Sing�� (no spoilers!) but during that meeting, Micheal gets a text that sends him running and then it is discovered that six thousand pounds has been stolen from the community center sometime that evening.

To make matters worse, later that night, a dead body is found at Michael’s home and he is reported as missing!

Now, Nova’s job is at risk, and if the money isn’t recovered the center won’t be able to get a new roof and will be closed down.

This gives the group a whole new sense of purpose as Phyllis knows that British Police never manage to solve a crime without the help of an amateur detective, and she has been waiting her whole life for this moment!

“What would Miss Marple Do��?

Now, you may think that you have had your fill of “senior citizen detectives�� but, even though this started out as Nova’s story-over the course of the 9 days-Phyllis and Craddock steal the show!

This one is a delightful, “cozy�� mystery story that can be read in one sitting and the book that finally got me out of my book slump and had me wanting to pick up a book again!

Loved the final chapter too!

3.75 rounded up!

Also-If you haven’t already read “The Lost Ticket�� -please do so! It remains my favorite:
See Review: /review/show...

A buddy read with MarilynW and DeAnn! Be sure to watch for their wonderful reviews!

Available May 27, 2025.

Thank You to Berkley for the gifted ARC provided through NetGalley! As always, these are my candid thoughts!]]> 4.00 2025
author: Freya Sampson
name: Jayme
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/04/01
date added: 2025/04/02
shelves: netgalley, widget-received, publisher-s-invitation, cozy
review:
Freya Sampson, the QUEEN of heartwarming “found family�� novels is back with a whole new cast of Busybodies!

Nova Davies has recently moved to Cornwall, and she really needs this fresh start and her new job to work out so she starts the St. Tredock Book Club to impress her boss Sandy-but so far it’s been a “less than impressive�� beginning.

There are only 5 members, including herself, in the club, and rounding out the group are :

Arthur, an Octogenarian who gets around town on his tractor and reads romance novels to his wife who has lost her sight.

Ash, a shy teenager who hopes to impress his secret crush.

Micheal, the newest member, who is a mystery to the others so far.

And, (scene stealer) Phyllis, -a wannabe “Miss Marple�� who knows every one of those Agatha Christie stories forward and backwards, and never leaves home without her elderly, arthritic English bulldog named Craddock.

The book opens with a delightful book club scene where the members are discussing “Where the Crawdads. Sing�� (no spoilers!) but during that meeting, Micheal gets a text that sends him running and then it is discovered that six thousand pounds has been stolen from the community center sometime that evening.

To make matters worse, later that night, a dead body is found at Michael’s home and he is reported as missing!

Now, Nova’s job is at risk, and if the money isn’t recovered the center won’t be able to get a new roof and will be closed down.

This gives the group a whole new sense of purpose as Phyllis knows that British Police never manage to solve a crime without the help of an amateur detective, and she has been waiting her whole life for this moment!

“What would Miss Marple Do��?

Now, you may think that you have had your fill of “senior citizen detectives�� but, even though this started out as Nova’s story-over the course of the 9 days-Phyllis and Craddock steal the show!

This one is a delightful, “cozy�� mystery story that can be read in one sitting and the book that finally got me out of my book slump and had me wanting to pick up a book again!

Loved the final chapter too!

3.75 rounded up!

Also-If you haven’t already read “The Lost Ticket�� -please do so! It remains my favorite:
See Review: /review/show...

A buddy read with MarilynW and DeAnn! Be sure to watch for their wonderful reviews!

Available May 27, 2025.

Thank You to Berkley for the gifted ARC provided through NetGalley! As always, these are my candid thoughts!
]]> 226133926 “A perfect blend of romance, humor, and an uplifting conclusion, this book will make you laugh, cry, and want to read it all over again.�� –Andrea Hurst, best-selling author of The Guestbook

Jilted and disillusioned, three unlikely friends discover that each of their dysfunctional exes have shaped up to become someone else’s Mr. Right.

Before the Next Mistake follows Carolyn, Ava, and Jazmine as they join forces in their own "Red Flag Society" support group, and eventually launch a podcast to search for the answers that will keep them from making the same relationship mistakes.

Determined to avoid all red flags in future love interests, Carolyn, Ava and Jazmine watch events unravel in each other’s lives until they begin to recognize their own flaws. With the help of their support group, their willingness to see things differently, and the quirkiness of how their lives come together, the three women embark on new and surprising journeys as they each strive to become their own best selves.]]> 366 Cate Perry Jayme 0 to-read 0.0
author: Cate Perry
name: Jayme
average rating: 0.0
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/02
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 228639318 From bestselling author Mike Gayle, a story about exes and how to get over them. Or not.

Reuben thought he’d spend the rest of his life with Beth, until she broke his heart six months ago. He’s not even remotely over her, so he’s devastated to hear she’s getting married—this weekend.

Now he’s faced with the ultimate what should he do on the day of the wedding? Grieve? Disrupt the ceremony? Or do everything in his power to pretend it’s not happening?

Enlisting the help of his friends, Reuben is all set to mark the occasion with distraction on a grand Ferraris, champagne, and a VIP box at the races.

But on the morning of the Big Day, Reuben gets a phone call that not only derails his elaborate it may well change his life completely��

For fans of David Nicholls, Nick Hornby and the agony uncle of heartbreak himself, a story that just how far would you go to get over the love of your life?]]> 100 Mike Gayle 1662530285 Jayme 0 to-read 3.56
author: Mike Gayle
name: Jayme
average rating: 3.56
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 55118101
And I have been powerless to stop him because I... am a cat.

Don’t get me wrong, Dean has never been cruel to me. He provides me with shelter, toys, and plenty of affection. But I have seen his dark side, his brutal treatment of women, and I can’t bear to watch anyone else get hurt.

Jane from next door is attractive for a human, not to mention being incredibly kind. That kindness may get her killed. I’ve seen how Dean looks at her, I know what he’s plotting. In his mind, she’s his for the taking. I wasn’t able to save the others, but I’m not ready to give up. One way or another, I have to figure out how to communicate to Jane that she’s in danger.

Can I find a way to warn her in time? Or will she become just another name on his growing list of victims?]]> 190 J.S. Ellis Jayme 0 4.10
author: J.S. Ellis
name: Jayme
average rating: 4.10
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/01
shelves: to-read, novella, psychological-thriller
review:

]]> 221132539 Sometimes what you think you want and what you actually want turn out to be different things . . .

Rosie Waterman has one to become a working actor. But lately, that hasn't been working out. When she loses her apartment and her job on the same day, she does what she always does--puts herself out there, ready to find the next big thing. But a trip home makes her realize that while she's been struggling to make this dream come true, all her friends have become real adults with careers and weddings and babies on the way. Rosie's been at this for years, and she has nothing to show for it. But how does she simply let go of her dream?

When she's offered a job as the director of a regional theatre's production of Cinderella, she jumps at the chance--even though she's only directed in college and the job is in Door County, Wisconsin, and not in New York. She has no other offers, and at least she'll be getting paid to do something theatrical. But when she arrives, she quickly realizes that the "regional theatre" is actually in a retirement community, and the "actors" are actually senior citizens with no acting experience whatsoever.

Working on the show presents new challenges, forcing Rosie to learn how to step up and be the leader this fledgling theatre troupe needs. The more time she spends with her new cast, the more she begins to rethink what it means to dream big, especially when that big dream hasn't turned out to be at all what she thought it would be. It's not at all what she expected, but could it be exactly what she needs?]]> 352 Courtney Walsh 0840713851 Jayme 0 to-read, maybe 4.38 2025
author: Courtney Walsh
name: Jayme
average rating: 4.38
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/01
shelves: to-read, maybe
review:

]]> 62026007
Struggling with her own closely guarded issues, Phoebe doesn't go out much. Instead, she spends her time at home, watching detective dramas and playing detective herself - trying to deduce from Al's deliveries as a courier what kind of lives her neighbours lead.

But when they find an abandoned baby otter on the riverbank, it's just the push Phoebe needs to finally step into her new community. Taking the little one to the local otter sanctuary and witnessing the uncomplicated joy of its fellow creatures, she feels a burgeoning sense of happiness that she has not experienced in a very long time.

However, Phoebe soon starts to suspect that something is amiss at the sanctuary - and she will need to put all her sleuthing skills to good use if she wants to save the otters . . .

From the Number One bestselling author of Away with the Penguins comes this 'otterly' delightful, warm-hearted and uplifting story about the healing power of nature.]]> 400 Hazel Prior 1529177030 Jayme 0 to-read 3.79 2023
author: Hazel Prior
name: Jayme
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/04/01
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 215805897 A stray cat brings together five strangers over the course of one fateful summer in this heartwarming novel about love, found family, and the power of connection.

Núria, a single-by-choice barista with a resentment for the “crazy cat lady�� label, is a member of The Meow-Yorkers, a group in Brooklyn who takes care of the neighborhood’s stray cats. On one of her volunteering days, she starts finding Post-It notes from a secret admirer at the spot where her favorite stray lives—a black cat named Cat. Like most cats, he is rather curious and sly, so of course he knows who the notes are from. Núria, however, is clueless.

Are the notes from Collin, a bestselling author and self-professed hermit with a weakness for good coffee? Are they from Lily, a fresh-out-of-high school Georgia native searching for her long-lost half-sister? Are they from Omar, the beloved neighborhood mailman going through an early mid-life crisis? Or are they from Bong, the grieving widower who owns her favorite bodega? When Cat suddenly falls ill, these five strangers find themselves connected in their desire to care for him and discover that chance encounters can lead to the meaningful connections they've been searching for.]]> 304 Tanya Guerrero 059387384X Jayme 4 4.23 2025
author: Tanya Guerrero
name: Jayme
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/11
date added: 2025/04/01
shelves: contemporary-fiction, netgalley, publisher-s-invitation, widget-received
review:

]]> 215806352 Vera Wong is back and as meddling as ever in this follow-up to the hit Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers.��

Ever since a man was found dead in Vera's teahouse, life has been good. For Vera that is. She’s surrounded by loved ones, her shop is bustling, and best of all, her son, Tilly, has a girlfriend! All thanks to Vera, because Tilly's girlfriend is none other than Officer Selena��Gray. The very same Officer Gray that she had harassed while investigating the teahouse murder. Still, Vera wishes more dead bodies would pop up in her shop, but one mustn't be ungrateful, even if one is slightly...bored.

Then Vera comes across a distressed young woman who is obviously in need of her kindly guidance. The young woman is looking for a missing friend. Fortunately, while cat-sitting at Tilly and Selena's, Vera finds a treasure Selena's briefcase.��Inside is a file about the death of an enigmatic influencer—who also happens to be the friend that the young woman was looking for.

Online, Xander had it a parade of private jets, fabulous parties with socialites, and a burgeoning career as a social media influencer. The only problem is, after his body is fished out of Mission Bay, the police can't seem to actually identify him. Who is Xander Lin? Nobody knows. Every contact is a dead end. Everybody claims not to know him, not even his parents.

Vera is determined to solve Xander's murder. After all, doing so would surely be a big favor to Selena, and��there is nothing she wouldn't do for her future daughter-in-law.]]> Jesse Q. Sutanto 0593546261 Jayme 4
In 2023, I “spilled the tea�� on “Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers��.
See review: /review/show...

So is this follow-up as funny as the first?

Well, YES-for the most part! In fact, I think the first half of this installment may be EVEN FUNNIER, than the first book, with MANY of the “laugh out loud�� moments-arising from the fact that Vera’s first language is Mandarin, so sometimes when she speaks English, something gets lost in translation��

Or does It?!

And, although she knows that ��60 is the new 40��, she ��DZ����’t hesitate to use her “helpless old lady”]]> 4.43 2025
author: Jesse Q. Sutanto
name: Jayme
average rating: 4.43
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/11
date added: 2025/04/01
shelves: contemporary-fiction, cozy, part-of-a-series
review:
4.5 ⭐️

In 2023, I “spilled the tea�� on “Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers��.
See review: /review/show...

So is this follow-up as funny as the first?

Well, YES-for the most part! In fact, I think the first half of this installment may be EVEN FUNNIER, than the first book, with MANY of the “laugh out loud�� moments-arising from the fact that Vera’s first language is Mandarin, so sometimes when she speaks English, something gets lost in translation��

Or does It?!

And, although she knows that ��60 is the new 40��, she ��DZ����’t hesitate to use her “helpless old lady��
]]> 215806371 Two strangers find themselves stranded at sea together in this epic new love story by bestselling author Beth O’Leary.

What if you were lost at sea…with your one-night stand?

Zeke and Lexi thought it would just be a night of fun. They had no intentions of seeing each other again. Zeke is only in town for the weekend to buy back his late father’s houseboat. Lexi has no time for dating when she needs to help take care of her best friend's daughter.

Going back home with a stranger seems like a perfect escape from their problems. But a miscommunication in the dark, foggy night means no one tied the houseboat to the dock. The next morning, Zeke and Lexi realize all they can see is miles and miles of water.

With just a few provisions on the idle boat, Zeke and Lexi must figure out how to get back home. But aside from their survival, they’re facing another challenge. Because when you’re stuck together for days on end, it gives you a lot of time to get to know someone—and to fall in love with them.]]> 378 Beth O'Leary 0593640152 Jayme 4
When Lexi’s boss Marissa, spots an intriguing young man in the bar, she encourages Lexi to go outside of her comfort zone, and enjoy a “no strings attached�� night of fun. Thirty One year old Lexi never dates, or does anything for herself really, as she has committed to helping to take care of her best friend’s 4 year old daughter, Mae, since Penny is a single mom. In fact, I found her attachment to Mae to be a bit unhealthy.

Twenty Three year old Zeke is only in town for the weekend to buy back his late father’s houseboat. Because of something he experienced at the age of sixteen, he keeps people at a distance as a self preservation tactic. “One Night Stands�� are just his thing. I have never met a 23 year old guy who was this self aware-but maybe his past and therapy has made him grow up quickly? He often seemed more mature than Lexi.

Each is upfront about what they expect from the night, and they head back to the houseboat. But, what they didn’t expect after their passionate night was to wake up to miles and miles of ocean-with no land in sight!

The boat was not provisioned with the things you would need at Sea, and Zeke and Lexi must figure out how to survive and get back home, something that will bond them-whether or not that was the original plan!

When I read this premise, I was hesitant to request this book. As a flight attendant, I am trained in water survival skills, and believe me, it would not be fun and games. So, I really had to suspend disbelief and just go with this. In reality, there would probably be a lot more tears, fear and doubt, but these two stay mostly optimistic despite the dire circumstances.

This is a Rom-Com after all!

But, I put aside my concerns because this is Beth O’Leary, and I have loved all but one of her books! She writes great characters and puts them in awkward situations, and I could not take a chance on missing out! Even though this one wasn’t a favorite for me, I did mostly enjoy it, and am glad I took a chance on it.

A buddy read with MarilynW. Be sure to read her thoughts on this as well-we had MUCH to discuss!

AVAILABLE NOW!

Thank You to Berkley for the gifted copy provided through NetGalley. As always, these are my candid thoughts!]]> 3.74 2025
author: Beth O'Leary
name: Jayme
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/13
date added: 2025/04/01
shelves: romance, maybe, widget-received
review:
3.5 ⭐️

When Lexi’s boss Marissa, spots an intriguing young man in the bar, she encourages Lexi to go outside of her comfort zone, and enjoy a “no strings attached�� night of fun. Thirty One year old Lexi never dates, or does anything for herself really, as she has committed to helping to take care of her best friend’s 4 year old daughter, Mae, since Penny is a single mom. In fact, I found her attachment to Mae to be a bit unhealthy.

Twenty Three year old Zeke is only in town for the weekend to buy back his late father’s houseboat. Because of something he experienced at the age of sixteen, he keeps people at a distance as a self preservation tactic. “One Night Stands�� are just his thing. I have never met a 23 year old guy who was this self aware-but maybe his past and therapy has made him grow up quickly? He often seemed more mature than Lexi.

Each is upfront about what they expect from the night, and they head back to the houseboat. But, what they didn’t expect after their passionate night was to wake up to miles and miles of ocean-with no land in sight!

The boat was not provisioned with the things you would need at Sea, and Zeke and Lexi must figure out how to survive and get back home, something that will bond them-whether or not that was the original plan!

When I read this premise, I was hesitant to request this book. As a flight attendant, I am trained in water survival skills, and believe me, it would not be fun and games. So, I really had to suspend disbelief and just go with this. In reality, there would probably be a lot more tears, fear and doubt, but these two stay mostly optimistic despite the dire circumstances.

This is a Rom-Com after all!

But, I put aside my concerns because this is Beth O’Leary, and I have loved all but one of her books! She writes great characters and puts them in awkward situations, and I could not take a chance on missing out! Even though this one wasn’t a favorite for me, I did mostly enjoy it, and am glad I took a chance on it.

A buddy read with MarilynW. Be sure to read her thoughts on this as well-we had MUCH to discuss!

AVAILABLE NOW!

Thank You to Berkley for the gifted copy provided through NetGalley. As always, these are my candid thoughts!
]]> 213570821 From the bestselling author of In My Dreams I Hold a Knife and Midnight is the Darkest Hour comes a chilling, compulsive story of five amateur sleuths, whose hunt for an elusive killer catapults them into danger as the world watches.

It's the most famous crime in modern history. But only she knows the true story.

After the unexpected death of her father, college student Jane Sharp longs for a distraction from her grief. She becomes obsessed with true crime, befriending armchair detectives who teach her how to hunt killers from afar. In this morbid internet underground, Jane finds friendship, purpose, and even glory...

So when news of the shocking deaths of three college girls in Delphine, Idaho takes the world by storm, and sleuths everywhere race to solve the crimes, Jane and her friends are determined to beat them. But the case turns out to be stranger than anyone expected. Details don't add up, the police are cagey, and there seems to be more media hype and internet theorizing than actual evidence. When Jane and her sleuths take a step closer, they find that every answer only begs more questions. Something's not adding up, and they begin to suspect their killer may be smarter and more prolific than any they've faced before. Placing themselves in the center of the story starts to feel more and more like walking into a trap...

Told one year after the astounding events that concluded the case and left the world reeling, when Jane has finally decided to break her silence about what really happened, she tells the true story of the Delphine Massacres. And what she has to confess will shock even the most seasoned true crime fans...


]]> 480 Ashley Winstead 1728270006 Jayme 3 library
3.5 ⭐️

One year after the case concluded, Jane Sharp is writing a book that will serve as a confession about her part as a “True Crime�� armchair detective who got involved in a case which captured the attention of an entire nation.

Jane, a college student herself, was grieving the unexpected death of her father, when she found a connection online, in the World of True Crime, which helped to fill the void his death has left.

She is invited to join a smaller, secret group of five, who chat on the encrypted privacy of Signal, and who end up finding fame on Newsline after helping to solve a case in Florida, where Jane lives, after she becomes involved.

This book includes their “chat threads�� as gives us an insider view of how those who are obsessed with True Crime, operate-sometimes getting things wrong and hurting innocent people in the process-and sometimes finding things the Detectives have missed because of their ability to comb through the lives of those involved who have made this easier by posting everything on Social Media.

Initially, I was entertained by this “fly on the wall�� perspective but I guessed a big part of the story at just past 50% in-and not because it mimics the real case-it actually ��DZ����’t. In fact, the author takes great pains to change things up around the halfway point, but this is where things lose credibility. Also the story begins to feel WAY TOO LONG!

I decided to round down despite an enjoyable first half, when I realized upon finishing this, that it did NOT compel me to seek out her backlist titles-so it was just a slightly above average read!

A buddy read with MarilynW. Be sure to read her thoughts about this one-we had much to discuss about some eye rolling moments!

Thank You to the Chandler Public Library for the loan of this title. As always, these are my candid thoughts .]]> 3.81 2025
author: Ashley Winstead
name: Jayme
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/30
date added: 2025/03/31
shelves: library
review:
⚠️ While I do appreciate that the author acknowledges that this story was inspired by the murders of four University of Idaho students on November 13, 2022-the timing may be sensitive for readers since the trial against the accused has not yet even begun (slated to begin August 11, 2025 and to last for 3 months). This review is based on my feelings about the fictional story only.

3.5 ⭐️

One year after the case concluded, Jane Sharp is writing a book that will serve as a confession about her part as a “True Crime�� armchair detective who got involved in a case which captured the attention of an entire nation.

Jane, a college student herself, was grieving the unexpected death of her father, when she found a connection online, in the World of True Crime, which helped to fill the void his death has left.

She is invited to join a smaller, secret group of five, who chat on the encrypted privacy of Signal, and who end up finding fame on Newsline after helping to solve a case in Florida, where Jane lives, after she becomes involved.

This book includes their “chat threads�� as gives us an insider view of how those who are obsessed with True Crime, operate-sometimes getting things wrong and hurting innocent people in the process-and sometimes finding things the Detectives have missed because of their ability to comb through the lives of those involved who have made this easier by posting everything on Social Media.

Initially, I was entertained by this “fly on the wall�� perspective but I guessed a big part of the story at just past 50% in-and not because it mimics the real case-it actually ��DZ����’t. In fact, the author takes great pains to change things up around the halfway point, but this is where things lose credibility. Also the story begins to feel WAY TOO LONG!

I decided to round down despite an enjoyable first half, when I realized upon finishing this, that it did NOT compel me to seek out her backlist titles-so it was just a slightly above average read!

A buddy read with MarilynW. Be sure to read her thoughts about this one-we had much to discuss about some eye rolling moments!

Thank You to the Chandler Public Library for the loan of this title. As always, these are my candid thoughts .
]]> 218559595 Two writers compete for the chance to tell the larger-than-life story of a woman with more than a couple of plot twists up her sleeve in this dazzling and sweeping new novel from Emily Henry.

Alice Scott is an eternal optimist still dreaming of her big writing break. Hayden Anderson is a Pulitzer-prize winning human thundercloud. And they’re both on balmy Little Crescent Island for the same reason: To write the biography of a woman no one has seen in years--or at least to meet with the octogenarian who claims to be the Margaret Ives. Tragic heiress, former tabloid princess, and daughter of one of the most storied (and scandalous) families of the 20th Century.

When Margaret invites them both for a one-month trial period, after which she’ll choose the person who’ll tell her story, there are three things keeping Alice’s head in the game.

One: Alice genuinely likes people, which means people usually like Alice—and she has a whole month to win the legendary woman over.

Two: She’s ready for this job and the chance to impress her perennially unimpressed family with a Serious Publication

Three: Hayden Anderson, who should have no reason to be concerned about losing this book, is glowering at her in a shaken-to-the core way that suggests he sees her as competition.

But the problem is, Margaret is only giving each of them pieces of her story. Pieces they can’t swap to put together because of an ironclad NDA and an inconvenient yearning pulsing between them every time they’re in the same room.

And it’s becoming abundantly clear that their story—just like the tale Margaret’s spinning—could be a mystery, tragedy, or love ballad…depending on who’s telling it.]]> 384 Emily Henry 059344129X Jayme 0 4.27 2025
author: Emily Henry
name: Jayme
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/30
shelves: to-read, contemporary-fiction, romance, library
review:

]]> 218696030 Thirty-year-old Sarah Jones gets caught up solving a murder in her new neighborhood after unknowingly befriending a dangerous con artist (who’s nothing like what she seems) in this playful, twisty mystery from acclaimed author Kathleen West.

It feels like kismet when Sarah Jones, newly relocated to Minneapolis after abruptly calling off her engagement, gets invited to join a group of women who share her same very common name. For years Sarah has received all types of correspondence intended for different Sarah Joneses, but now it seems that this mistake has given her the opportunity for an instant community.

What starts as a low-stakes meet-up called “The Sarah Jones Project�� soon turns sinister when another local Sarah Jones is found dead, under suspicious circumstances, at the base of the downtown Minneapolis bridge. After fielding numerous calls from concerned loved ones ruling out their Sarah as the victim, the surviving Sarahs decide to take matters into their own hands. Aided by the dead woman’s nanny, a newly commissioned (and very handsome and eligible) FBI agent, and a cloistered nun with a complicated past, the motley crew of unlikely friends are determined to get to the bottom of the murder of one of their own.

Between a budding romance and best friendship, Sarah feels like she’s in the right place at the right time, right up until the facts of the murder case begin stacking up too close to home. Can their team piece together where the deceptions lead before the killer silences someone else?]]> 432 Kathleen West 0593335538 Jayme 0 to-read, maybe 4.32
author: Kathleen West
name: Jayme
average rating: 4.32
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/30
shelves: to-read, maybe
review:

]]> 218533657 The Tinder Swindler meets Sweetpea. I'll have what Lucy Roth is having.�� L.M. Chilton, author of Don’t Swipe Right

‘Dark, funny and thought-provoking�� Jackie Kabler, author of The Perfect Couple

‘Delightful malice and menace�� Robin Ince, author and comedian

‘Incredibly pacy, funny, oh-so-dark, devious and dare I say, relatable�� I loved everything about it!�� Noelle Holten, author of His Truth Her Truth

THIS IS NOT A LOVE STORY. THIS IS A ROM COM GONE ROGUE.

Say hello to Sally. ��

I’ve woken up in the Big Apple with the world's worst hangover, an empty bank account, and the sinking feeling that my life just nosedived. Last night's escapade is a blur, but one thing is I’ve been swindled and I’m not happy about it.��

��She’s the woman of your dreams����

The culprit? Harry �� a total dreamboat and my worst nightmare. He’s got charm, secrets, and a smile that screams trouble. Little did I know, Harry's not just a pretty face �� he's a liar, conman and he’s turned my life upside down.��

…or is she your worst nightmare?��

​When I discover I’m not the only victim, I decide it’s only right I take my revenge. And with a group of wronged women behind me, murder isn’t on the agenda just yet because Harry’s in for a nightmare and I’m only just getting started…��

​A wicked, whip-smart revenge thriller, perfect for fans of Katy Brent, Bella Mackie and anyone who wants to take their revenge on The Tinder Swindler or Sweet Bobby.��]]> 352 Lucy Roth 0008740291 Jayme 2
�� THIS IS NOT A LOVE STORY. THIS IS A ROM COM GONE ROGUE��-is the quote on the book cover but that isn’t accurate either, as this was never a romance, nor was it a comedy-IMO-which is what I was expecting when I took a chance on this book.

So, what will you be getting if you pick this one up?

MISOGYNY is the hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women or girls-and that word is used at least five times in the first half of the book alone-as Sally is played by a con man named Harry that she met on a dating APP. Yet, it is HER hatred of men that really stands out.

After the con- Sally forms a group with other women who have been wronged setting up the second half of the book-where they will all seek their REVENGE against the catfishers, domestic abusers, bosses who abuse their power, rapists and murderers who have made them VICTIMS.

There isn’t a single good man in the book.

A CAUTIONARY TALE for women who confuse good sex with love or who don’t realize that a monster can hide behind “good looks”…but, unfortunately it was a one dimensional story that relies on being crass for shock value.

I am sure that readers who relish a good REVENGE story, may enjoy this more than I did-but no book is for every reader, and it just wasn’t a good fit for me.

A buddy read with Ceecee. Please check out her amazing review to find out if this was any more satisfying for her.

Available Now

Thank You to Avon Books for the gifted ARC provided by NetGalley. As always, these are my candid thoughts.]]> 3.35 2025
author: Lucy Roth
name: Jayme
average rating: 3.35
book published: 2025
rating: 2
read at: 2024/12/29
date added: 2025/03/30
shelves: contemporary-fiction, crime, humor, netgalley, rom_com
review:
When Sally Killed Harry is such a catchy FUN title-but unfortunately it was NOT a fun book, and it most definitely didn’t resemble the movie it gets its name from-in any way.

�� THIS IS NOT A LOVE STORY. THIS IS A ROM COM GONE ROGUE��-is the quote on the book cover but that isn’t accurate either, as this was never a romance, nor was it a comedy-IMO-which is what I was expecting when I took a chance on this book.

So, what will you be getting if you pick this one up?

MISOGYNY is the hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against women or girls-and that word is used at least five times in the first half of the book alone-as Sally is played by a con man named Harry that she met on a dating APP. Yet, it is HER hatred of men that really stands out.

After the con- Sally forms a group with other women who have been wronged setting up the second half of the book-where they will all seek their REVENGE against the catfishers, domestic abusers, bosses who abuse their power, rapists and murderers who have made them VICTIMS.

There isn’t a single good man in the book.

A CAUTIONARY TALE for women who confuse good sex with love or who don’t realize that a monster can hide behind “good looks”…but, unfortunately it was a one dimensional story that relies on being crass for shock value.

I am sure that readers who relish a good REVENGE story, may enjoy this more than I did-but no book is for every reader, and it just wasn’t a good fit for me.

A buddy read with Ceecee. Please check out her amazing review to find out if this was any more satisfying for her.

Available Now

Thank You to Avon Books for the gifted ARC provided by NetGalley. As always, these are my candid thoughts.
]]> 17899948 Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again...

The novel begins in Monte Carlo, where our heroine is swept off her feet by the dashing widower Maxim de Winter and his sudden proposal of marriage. Orphaned and working as a lady's maid, she can barely believe her luck. It is only when they arrive at his massive country estate that she realizes how large a shadow his late wife will cast over their lives--presenting her with a lingering evil that threatens to destroy their marriage from beyond the grave.

First published in 1938, this classic gothic novel is such a compelling read that it won the Anthony Award for Best Novel of the Century.]]> 449 Daphne du Maurier 0316323705 Jayme 5
Daphne du Maurier has always said her novel Rebecca was a study in jealousy.
(The Telegraph>U.K.>culture >books)

Maxim de Winter’s first wife, Rebecca, lives on in spirit, with the staff at Manderley, as the true “Mrs de Winter��.

His second wife, the narrator, remains nameless, and is never referred to by her first name, only as “Mrs. de Winter��.

The story begins at the end, with the second “Mrs. de Winter�� living in exile with her husband.

We then return to the beginning, where Maxim de Winter, a widower, meets and proposes marriage to a naive, woman, young enough to be his daughter.

He proposes without ever expressing his love for her, and brings her back to his estate, Manderley, where she cannot help but to constantly compare herself to Rebecca.

I thought I knew this story, having seen part of the Hitchcock movie, based on this book.

I have read in many books, the references to “Mrs. Danvers�� (Danny), Rebecca’s devoted housekeeper, who keeps Rebecca’s spirit alive...and helps to perpetuate her image as the perfect wife, and perfect hostess.

I thought that “Mrs. Danvers�� was supposed to be the ultimate villain.

So, why did I feel that Maxim was worse?

He married a woman half his age, never expressed love or offered intimacy, called her “child��, walked ahead of her, not beside her on walks, and did nothing to put “Mrs Danvers�� in her place when she did not respect his new wife. Or, when she set her up to fail.

And, when he “reveals�� his truth, the new “Mrs. de Winter meekly accepts it. Instead of scaring her, it makes her....happy?

Relationships between spouses were quite different 80 years ago.

But, this is no love story.

It is however a fascinating novel, which used several narrative techniques, perhaps for the first time, setting a standard for gothic literature to come.

You may want to check out an interesting article “Why Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca is still popular 80 years on-
()

Rebecca will continue to inspire conversations, articles and yes, other books.

I read it simultaneously with one of those books, “The Winters�� by Lisa Gabriele, because I wanted to be able to contrast and compare. Review for “The Winters��: /review/show...

And, now I am planning on reading “Rebecca’s Tale�� by Sally Beauman, who wrote the afterward in the copy of Rebecca that I read.

Ms. Beauman’s book is officially approved by the du Maurier estate and continues the original plot.

It is also considered roughly consistent with the 1993 sequel Mrs de Winter by Susan Hill.]]> 4.28 1938
author: Daphne du Maurier
name: Jayme
average rating: 4.28
book published: 1938
rating: 5
read at: 2018/12/23
date added: 2025/03/30
shelves:
review:
“Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again��...is the famous first line, of the novel Rebecca, which has never been out of print in the 80 years since it has been published, despite originally being wrongly promoted by her publisher, as an “exquisite love story��. (per the Afterward by Sally Beauman)

Daphne du Maurier has always said her novel Rebecca was a study in jealousy.
(The Telegraph>U.K.>culture >books)

Maxim de Winter’s first wife, Rebecca, lives on in spirit, with the staff at Manderley, as the true “Mrs de Winter��.

His second wife, the narrator, remains nameless, and is never referred to by her first name, only as “Mrs. de Winter��.

The story begins at the end, with the second “Mrs. de Winter�� living in exile with her husband.

We then return to the beginning, where Maxim de Winter, a widower, meets and proposes marriage to a naive, woman, young enough to be his daughter.

He proposes without ever expressing his love for her, and brings her back to his estate, Manderley, where she cannot help but to constantly compare herself to Rebecca.

I thought I knew this story, having seen part of the Hitchcock movie, based on this book.

I have read in many books, the references to “Mrs. Danvers�� (Danny), Rebecca’s devoted housekeeper, who keeps Rebecca’s spirit alive...and helps to perpetuate her image as the perfect wife, and perfect hostess.

I thought that “Mrs. Danvers�� was supposed to be the ultimate villain.

So, why did I feel that Maxim was worse?

He married a woman half his age, never expressed love or offered intimacy, called her “child��, walked ahead of her, not beside her on walks, and did nothing to put “Mrs Danvers�� in her place when she did not respect his new wife. Or, when she set her up to fail.

And, when he “reveals�� his truth, the new “Mrs. de Winter meekly accepts it. Instead of scaring her, it makes her....happy?

Relationships between spouses were quite different 80 years ago.

But, this is no love story.

It is however a fascinating novel, which used several narrative techniques, perhaps for the first time, setting a standard for gothic literature to come.

You may want to check out an interesting article “Why Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca is still popular 80 years on-
()

Rebecca will continue to inspire conversations, articles and yes, other books.

I read it simultaneously with one of those books, “The Winters�� by Lisa Gabriele, because I wanted to be able to contrast and compare. Review for “The Winters��: /review/show...

And, now I am planning on reading “Rebecca’s Tale�� by Sally Beauman, who wrote the afterward in the copy of Rebecca that I read.

Ms. Beauman’s book is officially approved by the du Maurier estate and continues the original plot.

It is also considered roughly consistent with the 1993 sequel Mrs de Winter by Susan Hill.
]]> 224277538 From #1 New York Times bestselling author Greer Hendricks comes a chilling story about the hidden cost of perfection.

Anne is barely keeping it together. A frazzled ghostwriter and aspiring novelist, she juggles nine-year-old twins and a listless marriage from an overcrowded Manhattan apartment, spreading herself thinner each day. Just as Anne is about to give up on her dreams, she lands her biggest client Melody Wells.

Melody paints a picture of serenity and empowerment in the lavender haze of her visualization workshops—however, the one thing she can’t manifest are the pages her publisher is demanding for her new motivational book. Enter Anne.

As Melody invites Anne deeper into her magical world, Anne finds herself working impossibly long days and traveling far beyond her comfort zone.

When Melody passes along a lead on a spacious sublet complete with East River views, built-in closets, and three bedrooms, Anne can’t believe her luck. Melody seems to know just what her family needs. But as small, unsettling incidents begin to accumulate, Anne starts to wonder what price she’s willing to pay for the good life.]]> 49 Greer Hendricks 1662528515 Jayme 3 amazon-first, novella
Melody Wells is the latest “trending name��. It seems like everyone is subscribing to the “Lavender Serenity�� she is selling in her visualization workshops��

But the one thing she can’t manifest are the pages her publisher needs for her new book, so she hires Anne, a Ghostwriter, to give clarity to her thoughts on paper.

But the job isn’t “Lavender Serenity�� for Anne. Nor is the SUBLET, that Anne and her growing family move into after receiving a “lead�� on the apartment from Melody.

Although the story was engaging enough, I am not sure I completely understand the ending, which felt abrupt and left me with questions, hence the 3 star ⭐️ rating.

]]> 3.24 2025
author: Greer Hendricks
name: Jayme
average rating: 3.24
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/29
date added: 2025/03/29
shelves: amazon-first, novella
review:
I always enjoyed the author’s collaborations with Sarah Pekkanen, so when I saw that this short story was FREE in March for Amazon Prime members, I quickly downloaded it.

Melody Wells is the latest “trending name��. It seems like everyone is subscribing to the “Lavender Serenity�� she is selling in her visualization workshops��

But the one thing she can’t manifest are the pages her publisher needs for her new book, so she hires Anne, a Ghostwriter, to give clarity to her thoughts on paper.

But the job isn’t “Lavender Serenity�� for Anne. Nor is the SUBLET, that Anne and her growing family move into after receiving a “lead�� on the apartment from Melody.

Although the story was engaging enough, I am not sure I completely understand the ending, which felt abrupt and left me with questions, hence the 3 star ⭐️ rating.


]]> 36531070 A double life with a single purpose: revenge.

Jane’s days at a Midwest insurance company are perfectly ordinary. She blends in well, unremarkably pretty in her floral-print dresses and extra efficient at her low-level job. She’s just the kind of woman middle manager Steven Hepsworth likes—meek, insecure, and willing to defer to a man. No one has any idea who Jane really is. Least of all Steven.

But plain Jane is hiding something. And Steven’s bringing out the worst in her.

Nothing can distract Jane from going straight for his heart: allowing herself to be seduced into Steven’s bed, to insinuate herself into his career and his family, and to expose all his dirty secrets. It’s time for Jane to dig out everything that matters to Steven. So she can take it all away.

Just as he did to her.]]> 267 Victoria Helen Stone 1503956040 Jayme 5
I loved it! ❤️

A Sociopath is defined as a person with a personality disorder manifesting itself in extreme antisocial attitudes and behavior, and a lack of conscience.

Jane is a self proclaimed sociopath, posing as a low level data entry clerk in an insurance agency.

She has secured the job there so that she can meet Stephen Hepsworth, a man you are going to hate. He is the kind of man who calls every woman he seduces “babe�� because they are all interchangeable. He likes his women meek, insecure, and willing to defer to a man.

Stephen has taken something away from Jane, and she is hell bent on revenge. I wanted her to succeed. And, I’m NOT going to apologize for that. After all, Jane wouldn’t.

This book was so much fun to read. ]]> 4.03 2018
author: Victoria Helen Stone
name: Jayme
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2018/08/19
date added: 2025/03/29
shelves: netgalley, my-4-and-5-star-books, psychological-thriller
review:
This was probably the book, I recommended the MOST in 2018!

I loved it! ❤️

A Sociopath is defined as a person with a personality disorder manifesting itself in extreme antisocial attitudes and behavior, and a lack of conscience.

Jane is a self proclaimed sociopath, posing as a low level data entry clerk in an insurance agency.

She has secured the job there so that she can meet Stephen Hepsworth, a man you are going to hate. He is the kind of man who calls every woman he seduces “babe�� because they are all interchangeable. He likes his women meek, insecure, and willing to defer to a man.

Stephen has taken something away from Jane, and she is hell bent on revenge. I wanted her to succeed. And, I’m NOT going to apologize for that. After all, Jane wouldn’t.

This book was so much fun to read.
]]> 223627279 A mother- and daughter-in-law. To move on, one of them will have to move out in a hopeful and hilarious novel about widowhood and family friction by the bestselling author of Don’t Forget to Write .

It’s 1963, two years since Barbara Feldman’s husband died. Raising two kids, she’s finally emerging from her cocoon of grief. Not yet a butterfly, but she’s anxious to spread her wings.

Then one day her mother-in-law, Ruth, shows up on her doorstep with five suitcases, expecting a room of her own with a suitable mattress. Abrasive and stuck in her ways yet well meaning, Mother Ruth arrives without warning to help with the children. How can Barbara say no to a woman who is not only a widow herself but also a grieving mother? As Ruth’s prickly visit turns from days to weeks to what seems like forever, Barbara realizes Ruth has got to go. But Barbara has an ingenious introduce Ruth to some fine gentlemen and marry her off as fast as she can.

Soon enough, something tells Barbara that Ruth is trying to do the same for her. At least they’re finding common ground—helping each other to move forward. Even if it is in the most unpredictable ways two totally different women ever imagined.]]> 287 Sara Goodman Confino 1662527535 Jayme 0 to-read 4.71
author: Sara Goodman Confino
name: Jayme
average rating: 4.71
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 216562803 “A page-turner par excellence, written with unobtrusive brilliance, [and] full of sharply observed lines��. The Death of Us lives up to the hype.��
—Stephen King

��The Death of Us is astonishingly good—Abigail Dean’s the real thing.��
—Mick Herron, bestselling author of Slow Horses

A CrimeReads and Brit + Co Most Anticipated Book of 2025

It’s the night we never talk about.
It’s the story the world wants to hear.
But this isn’t the story of that night. This is the story of us.

Together, Edward and Isabel move to London. They are young and in love, occupied by friends, work and fun. But late on a spring evening when they are thirty years old, their home is invaded by a serial killer. In the wake of this violation, each tries to come to terms with a night that changed everything -- and their marriage begins to crumble.

Twenty-five years later, their tormentor is caught, and Edward and Isabel reunite for his sentencing. Isabel has waited years for the man who nearly ended her life to be brought to justice. Edward has tried to think about anything else. As they prepare to deliver impact statements in the public eye, it is time to revisit their love story. Will they finally be able to confront the secrets, longings and lies that tore them apart?

Or will the horror of that night be the death of them?

A captivating portrait of a marriage and its implosion, The Death of Us digs into the stories we tell ourselves about love -- and everything love can bear.]]> 336 Abigail Dean 0593831144 Jayme 3 netgalley, mystery-suspense
When Edward and Isabel are thirty years old, they become the latest Victims of a serial killer, dubbed “The South London Invader��. He preys on “happy couples�� watching them painstakingly for weeks so that he can plan the perfect attack.

ONE NIGHT CHANGES EVERYTHING.

Each deals with the traumatic event differently. Isabel wants to TALK about it-with Edward, with the press, and with Etta-the Detective in charge-and it is a story that all of London wants to hear!

Edward ��DZ����’t want to talk about it at all.

Twenty-five years later, Nigel Wood is caught, and Edward and Isabel, now divorced will reunite for his sentencing. It is an opportunity to deliver impact statements and perhaps to finally get closure about the relationship that they lost as a result of the crime they endured.

The story unfolds from the POV’s of Isabel and Edward. Isabel’s chapters are written like it is her IMPACT STATEMENT chronicling the PAST, while Edward’s chapters cover the PRESENT timeline.

The premise is interesting, but I DID NOT find the book to be a thriller, or suspenseful as advertised. Instead it reads like a character study-with the CHARACTER being the MARRIAGE, and the pace was extremely SLOW.

The story is supposed to demonstrate that a traumatic event like this can destroy even the strongest of marriages, yet I DIDN’T find their love story to be epic at all. Edward is a bit dull, and Isabel is a bit cold. If the descriptions of their intimacy, using the crudest of terms (C word) is supposed to convince us of their love-it didn’t work for this reader.

Early reviews seem to be split between high praise and the opposite, with few in between-and I am one who struggled to get through it. This was a buddy read with DeAnn and Mary Beth…Did they feel differently? Be sure to watch for their reviews.

⚠️ TW: Graphic descriptions of rape/assault

2.5 stars rounded up

Expected publication date: April 15, 2025

Thank You to Penguin Viking for the gifted ARC provided through NetGalley. As always, these are my candid thoughts.]]> 3.80 2025
author: Abigail Dean
name: Jayme
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/26
date added: 2025/03/27
shelves: netgalley, mystery-suspense
review:
Disturbing and thought provoking but��.

When Edward and Isabel are thirty years old, they become the latest Victims of a serial killer, dubbed “The South London Invader��. He preys on “happy couples�� watching them painstakingly for weeks so that he can plan the perfect attack.

ONE NIGHT CHANGES EVERYTHING.

Each deals with the traumatic event differently. Isabel wants to TALK about it-with Edward, with the press, and with Etta-the Detective in charge-and it is a story that all of London wants to hear!

Edward ��DZ����’t want to talk about it at all.

Twenty-five years later, Nigel Wood is caught, and Edward and Isabel, now divorced will reunite for his sentencing. It is an opportunity to deliver impact statements and perhaps to finally get closure about the relationship that they lost as a result of the crime they endured.

The story unfolds from the POV’s of Isabel and Edward. Isabel’s chapters are written like it is her IMPACT STATEMENT chronicling the PAST, while Edward’s chapters cover the PRESENT timeline.

The premise is interesting, but I DID NOT find the book to be a thriller, or suspenseful as advertised. Instead it reads like a character study-with the CHARACTER being the MARRIAGE, and the pace was extremely SLOW.

The story is supposed to demonstrate that a traumatic event like this can destroy even the strongest of marriages, yet I DIDN’T find their love story to be epic at all. Edward is a bit dull, and Isabel is a bit cold. If the descriptions of their intimacy, using the crudest of terms (C word) is supposed to convince us of their love-it didn’t work for this reader.

Early reviews seem to be split between high praise and the opposite, with few in between-and I am one who struggled to get through it. This was a buddy read with DeAnn and Mary Beth…Did they feel differently? Be sure to watch for their reviews.

⚠️ TW: Graphic descriptions of rape/assault

2.5 stars rounded up

Expected publication date: April 15, 2025

Thank You to Penguin Viking for the gifted ARC provided through NetGalley. As always, these are my candid thoughts.
]]> 217223430 Daisy Jones and the Six meets Patricia Highsmith in this addictive, intense novel about the brutal and ferocious road to glory, from the award-winning author of My Husband.��

Ever since she was a child, Cléo, the French-American daughter of two academics, has had only one becoming a famous singer. Over the years, to everyone’s surprise but her own, she overcomes every obstacle and becomes a global superstar with millions of dollars, countless awards, and several Los Angeles villas to her name. But as any celebrity will tell you, getting to the top is one thing; staying there is another.

Now thirty-three years old, Cléo is taking her first real vacation in years, on a remote island with no one else in sight. With the never-ending spin cycle of her life finally on pause and no paparazzi peeking out from behind the coconut palms, she can work on her fourth album in peace. Except that with so much time to think, she can’t help but ruminate on her past—including how, just six months earlier, things started to go very, very wrong . . .

Taking place between New York, Paris, Los Angeles, and the South Pacific, How to Become a Celebrity is a brilliant sophomore novel from Maud Ventura that dives intoxicatingly deep into the machinations of one woman’s complicated mind, and her relentless pursuit of fame.


]]> 352 Maud Ventura 0063427516 Jayme 3 literary-fiction, netgalley
Both book covers feature a glamorous Parisian woman, wearing signature red lipstick.]]> 3.86 2024
author: Maud Ventura
name: Jayme
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2024
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/23
date added: 2025/03/24
shelves: literary-fiction, netgalley
review:
Last year, I read the author’s DEBUT novel, “My Husband��, and despite a low average rating on ŷ������, I was part of a “niche audience�� who found the glimpse into this particular French marriage, utterly fascinating. So, I was excited to see that award winning author Maud Ventura had a new novel translated from French to English.

Both book covers feature a glamorous Parisian woman, wearing signature red lipstick.
]]> 215749267 Her bestsellers explore the wildest, strangest crimes. Now her husband has been murdered�� is she a target, a victim, or is this even darker?��

NYPD Detective Declan Shaw gets the call from his lieutenant at 9:42 p.m.��How fast can you get to 211 Central Park West? The Beresford Building.

At Apartment 18A, Shaw’s partner briefs him. The woman inside called 911 to report a break-in—and the murder of her husband. She fired a round at first responders, then made a baffling demand.��Nobody comes in but Detective Declan Shaw.

The woman answers, covered in blood. She appears to be in shock. A body is lying dead on the floor of the luxurious living room.��

Shaw walks in and spots floor-to-ceiling shelves filled with hardcover books. He recognizes the name—bestselling true-crime author Denise Morrow. When he looks closer, he sees they all show the same familiar picture on the back.��

“This is you?�� Shaw asks. “You’re a writer?��
��
The real question Is she also a killer?]]> 400 James Patterson 0316570001 Jayme 5
So, did this collaboration between James Patterson and J. D. Barker deliver on that promise?
YES! IT DID!


Best Selling True Crime novelist Denise Morrow is writing a book called “The Taking of Maggie Marshall�� which will expose NYPD Detective, Declan Shaw as a fraud.

So, WHY, when she called 911, to report a break-in, and the murder of her husband, would she demand that NOBODY but Detective Shaw enter the apartment when Police respond?

Well, now I KNOW, and TRUST ME-you will want to find out!

The book opens with Declan Shaw contemplating SUICIDE, as a train comes barreling down the tracks. The phone call demanding his presence at 211 Central Park West, Apartment 18A has him detouring to that location instead.

And, as this entertaining, fast paced story unfolds you will be wondering WHO is the most clever character of them all!

I’m not telling! ]]> 4.36
author: James Patterson
name: Jayme
average rating: 4.36
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/19
date added: 2025/03/23
shelves: thriller-tbr, publisher-s-invitation, netgalley, crime, audible, library
review:
The book cover promises that “you”ll never forget the ending”��

So, did this collaboration between James Patterson and J. D. Barker deliver on that promise?
YES! IT DID!


Best Selling True Crime novelist Denise Morrow is writing a book called “The Taking of Maggie Marshall�� which will expose NYPD Detective, Declan Shaw as a fraud.

So, WHY, when she called 911, to report a break-in, and the murder of her husband, would she demand that NOBODY but Detective Shaw enter the apartment when Police respond?

Well, now I KNOW, and TRUST ME-you will want to find out!

The book opens with Declan Shaw contemplating SUICIDE, as a train comes barreling down the tracks. The phone call demanding his presence at 211 Central Park West, Apartment 18A has him detouring to that location instead.

And, as this entertaining, fast paced story unfolds you will be wondering WHO is the most clever character of them all!

I’m not telling!
]]> 217087634 Fate connects two people in life-changing ways in a deeply romantic and emotional novel about hope and second chances by the author of Would You Rather and The Roommate Pact.

Uncertain of what tomorrow brings, Elliott Holland decides to live it up—on the eve of a stem cell transplant to treat her leukemia. It’s destiny when she crosses paths with handsome and charming Jamie Sullivan. The chemistry is magic. So is a beautiful evening that ends with a bittersweet kiss goodbye and no expectations of ever seeing each other again.

One year later, Elliott’s future looks good. Her cancer is in remission. Her career in graphic design is taking off. And she’s finally met Carly, the young woman whose stem cell donation gave Elliott a second chance at life. Then, in a twist of fate both blissful and unfair, she meets Carly’s boyfriend. It’s Jamie, the man Elliott kissed like it was her last day on earth. Neither of them has ever forgotten it.

Now, the most difficult decisions of all lie ahead. Whatever risks there are to the heart, one need wins to grab hold of everything that can make someone feel alive again.]]> 314 Allison Ashley 1662527268 Jayme 0 4.05 2025
author: Allison Ashley
name: Jayme
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/23
shelves: to-read, already-own, amazon-first, contemporary-fiction, romance
review:

]]> 40961230
An instant international bestseller and indie bestseller, The Travelling Cat Chronicles has charmed readers around the world. With simple yet descriptive prose, this novel gives voice to Nana the cat and his owner, Satoru, as they take to the road on a journey with no other purpose than to visit three of Satoru's longtime friends. Or so Nana is led to believe...

With his crooked tail—a sign of good fortune—and adventurous spirit, Nana is the perfect companion for the man who took him in as a stray. And as they travel in a silver van across Japan, with its ever-changing scenery and seasons, they will learn the true meaning of courage and gratitude, of loyalty and love.]]> 281 Hiro Arikawa 0735235244 Jayme 0 to-read, already-own 4.35 2012
author: Hiro Arikawa
name: Jayme
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2012
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/23
shelves: to-read, already-own
review:

]]> 199793510 Derrière la haine nous a tous bouleversés. Barbara Abel n'en reste pas là. Que deviennent Tiphaine, Sylvain et Milo, ces trois personnages qui ont vécu l'horreur et qui ont inconsciemment choisi de s'imposer l'enfer quotidien en restant dans une maison qui a abrité tant de drames ? Et juste à côté d'une autre maison qui, dès qu'ils en rouvriront la porte, laissera ressortir tous les fantômes du passé ?]]> 320 Barbara Abel 0063306352 Jayme 0 to-read 0.0 2013
author: Barbara Abel
name: Jayme
average rating: 0.0
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 219583446
Three women. Three smouldering secrets. Who will make it out alive?

It’s 5 November, and a woman awakens to a nightmare. Bound and gagged, she lies trapped in the heart of a towering bonfire. As the smoke thickens, panic sets in �� she’s moments away from being engulfed in flames. How did it come to this?

Rewind eleven months: Margot, a faded TV star, and her long-suffering friend Anna watch as glamorous Liv and her flawless family move into their street. The three women soon fabricate the perfect pretence of friendship, but each harbours her own deadly secret �� and newcomer Liv senses something is terribly wrong beneath the polished exteriors.

As cracks widen in the veneer of perfection and lies escalate out of control, tension ignites. Bonfire Night is approaching and someone is set to burn…But who will it be?]]> John Marrs Jayme 3 3.5 ⭐️ 4.14 2025
author: John Marrs
name: Jayme
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/21
date added: 2025/03/21
shelves: psychological-thriller, already-own, audible, backlist
review:
3.5 ⭐️
]]> 217387937 A pulse-pounding new Southern thriller from the author of the runaway bestseller A Flicker in the Dark.

Twenty-two years ago, Claire Campbell’s older sister, Natalie, disappeared shortly after her eighteenth birthday. Days later, her blood was found in a car, a man was arrested, and the case was swiftly closed. In the decades since, Claire has attempted to forget her traumatic past by moving to the city and climbing the ranks as an investigative journalist... until an unexpected call from her father forces her to come back home and face it all anew.

With the entire summer now looming ahead—a summer spent with nothing to do in her childhood home, with her estranged mother—Claire decides on a whim to accept a seasonal job at Galloway Farm, a muscadine vineyard in coastal South Carolina less than an hour away from where she grew up. At first glance, Galloway is an idyllic escape for Claire. A scenic retreat full of slow-paced nostalgia, as well as a place where her sister seemed truly happy in that last summer before she vanished, it feels like the perfect plan to pass the time. However, as soon as Claire starts to settle in, she stumbles across an old diary written by one of the vineyard's owners, and what at first seems like a story of young rebellion and love turns into something much more sinister as it begins to describe details of various unsolved crimes. As the days stretch on, Claire finds herself becoming more and more secluded as she starts to obsess over the diary's contents�� as well as the lingering feeling that her own sister's disappearance may be somehow tied to it all.

Galloway was supposed to be a place to help her move forward, but instead, Claire quickly finds herself immersed in her own dark and dangerous past.]]> 368 Stacy Willingham 1250887976 Jayme 0 4.35 2025
author: Stacy Willingham
name: Jayme
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/20
shelves: to-read, buddy-read, crime, mystery-suspense, netgalley, widget-received
review:

]]> 199621289 A ghostwriter is locked in an interview room with a man who might be a murderer, in this gripping new mystery thriller from the #1 bestselling author of 56 Days and The Trap.

The night Jack Smyth ran into flames in a desperate attempt to save his wife from their burning home, he was, tragically, too late - but hailed a hero. Until it emerged that Kate was dead long before the fire began.

Suspicion has stalked him ever since. After all, there's no smoke without fire.

A year on, he's signed a book deal. He wants to tell his side of the story, to prove his own innocence in print. He just needs someone to help him write it.

Emily has never ghostwritten anything before, but she knows what it’s like to live with a guilty secret. And she's about to learn that there are some stories that should never be told...]]> 352 Catherine Ryan Howard 1529199018 Jayme 0 3.73 2024
author: Catherine Ryan Howard
name: Jayme
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/20
shelves: to-read, mystery-suspense, psychological-thriller
review:

]]> 215509879 For readers of J. Ryan Stradal and The Music of Bees (with a dash of FX’s The Bear) comes a quirky and refreshing epistolary novel about family of culture-shocked Brooklynites transplanted to Goodnight, Kansas and their fight for their unexpected lifeline: the legendary May Day Diner.

Welcome to Goodnight, Kansas.

Population: Many Kansans, three New Yorkers, and one chance to save the place they love most

With more wind chimes than residents, folks don't move to Goodnight when their lives are going well. That's why all eyes are on chef Sid Solvang and his family from the moment they turn down Emporia Road to the dilapidated Victorian they inherited.

While Sid searches for work and a way back to Brooklyn, his daughter searches for answers to the cryptic messages her grandfather left behind to save both her family and the town. But then Sid makes an impulsive purchase: the fledgling May Day Diner, an iconic eatery under the threat of the wrecking ball.

As the Solvangs search for their ticket out, they discover the truth of Goodnight: one of heart and tradition, of exploitation and greed, and neighbors you would do anything to save. And the Solvangs must navigate all of it—plus wayward girl named Disco, a host of rambunctious alpacas, and the corrupt factory sustaining the town—in order to find their way back home...wherever that may be.

Told through diary entries, emails, school notes, and an anonymous town paper of the Lady Whistledown variety, A Town with Half the Lights On is a tender testament to the notions that home isn’t just the place you live, family isn’t just your relatives, and it’s almost never easy to find the courage to do what’s right.]]> 384 Page Getz 1464226962 Jayme 0
I thought I would love this epistolary novel about three Brooklynites in need of a fresh start who move to Goodnight, Kansas after inheriting a dilapidated Victorian home (And a few Alpacas). Especially when I read that the family purchases the May Day Diner, an iconic eatery under the threat of the wrecking ball.

Told through diary entries, emails, school notes, an anonymous town paper and a few messages in a bottle, I hoped to find the story to be as charming as just about EVERY other reviewer has, but found that I just can’t relate to the town or its quirky residents.

No book is for every reader, and sadly, this one isn’t for me. BE SURE to read other reviews! There are MANY praising this debut offering!

Expected publication date : April 22, 2025

Thank You to Sourcebooks Landmark for the opportunity to read an early copy provided through NetGalley.]]> 4.23
author: Page Getz
name: Jayme
average rating: 4.23
book published:
rating: 0
read at: 2025/03/19
date added: 2025/03/19
shelves: epistolary, general-fiction, literary-fiction, netgalley
review:
*DNF at 25%* No Rating on ŷ������

I thought I would love this epistolary novel about three Brooklynites in need of a fresh start who move to Goodnight, Kansas after inheriting a dilapidated Victorian home (And a few Alpacas). Especially when I read that the family purchases the May Day Diner, an iconic eatery under the threat of the wrecking ball.

Told through diary entries, emails, school notes, an anonymous town paper and a few messages in a bottle, I hoped to find the story to be as charming as just about EVERY other reviewer has, but found that I just can’t relate to the town or its quirky residents.

No book is for every reader, and sadly, this one isn’t for me. BE SURE to read other reviews! There are MANY praising this debut offering!

Expected publication date : April 22, 2025

Thank You to Sourcebooks Landmark for the opportunity to read an early copy provided through NetGalley.
]]> 223854441 Welcome aboard the Hankyu Line train!

Come along on a heartwarming, funny, and perfectly cozy voyage with the charming and relatable passengers—including one dashing dachshund—whose lives intersect and affect each other on one of Japan’s most romantic railway lines from international bestselling author Hiro Arikawa.

Between the two beautiful towns of Takarazuka and Nishinomiya, in a stunning mountainous area of Japan, rattles the Hankyu Line train. Passengers step on and off, lost in thought, contemplating the tiny knots of their existence. On the outward journey, we are introduced to the emotional dilemmas of five characters, and on the return journey six months later, we watch them find resolutions.

A young man meets the young woman who always happens to borrow a library book just before he can check it out himself, a woman in a white bridal dress boards looking inexplicably sad, a university student heads home after class, a girl prepares to leave her abusive boyfriend, and an old lady discusses adopting a dog with her granddaughter.

With stories that crisscross like the railway lines, the Hankyu train trundles on, propelling the lives and loves of its passengers ever forward.]]> 256 Hiro Arikawa Jayme 0 3.83 2008
author: Hiro Arikawa
name: Jayme
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2008
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/18
shelves: to-read, buddy-read, maybe, netgalley, widget-received
review:

]]> 218695924 A talent agent hires an actress to play the part of “novelist�� on a book tour for his agency’s publicity-shy client in this delightful rom-com from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Reese’s Book Club Pick One Day in December

She’s playing the part of romance author, but has she found her own real life love story?

Talent agent Charlie Francisco has three problems: a divorce that ended his screenwriting career, a business he never planned to inherit, and a take-your-breath-away romance novel whose author wants nothing to do with its publication. The book is a surefire hit, if only his agency can find someone to “play�� author on its summer book tour.

Enter Kate Elliott, a former soap actress who’s miraculously right for the part at the very moment her life seems to be going all wrong. Kate is still recovering from her own divorce and Charlie’s job offer is a lifeline. She agrees to the pretense for all interviews, signings, and appearances surrounding the novel’s publication. But she can’t know who really wrote the remarkable story—the one so beautiful it’s made her believe in love again.

When Kate and Charlie meet they’re all friction and sparks—the one thing they have in common is they’re determined to play their respective parts. But as the summer heat ups and the lies get bigger and bigger, can they stick to their lines . . . or will they go off-script?]]> 352 Josie Silver 0593722884 Jayme 0 4.02 2025
author: Josie Silver
name: Jayme
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/18
shelves: to-read, buddy-read, contemporary-fiction, netgalley, romance, widget-received
review:

]]> 214269008 The long-awaited follow-up to the Reese’s Book Club��pick and New York Times bestselling global phenomenon The Light We Lost: a thrilling love story about the roles fate and choice play in shaping a life

It’s been ten years. In case you’re out there somewhere—in case you’re listening, I’m here. And I have so much to tell you.

It’s been nearly ten years since Gabe’s been gone when Lucy finds a tiny piece of paper in a box of his old photos. An address in Rome. Why did Gabe keep it, and what was he doing in Italy? Lucy buys a last-minute ticket. Impulsive, but Gabe always brought that out in her.

Lucy’s journey to uncover Gabe’s secret leads her to Dr. Dax Amstrong, a New Yorker in Italy working with an NGO. His broad shoulders and sad, intense eyes draw Lucy in. His touch reaches her in a forgotten place—one that no one has neared since Gabe.

But her old life awaits, along with an earth-shattering decision—whether she and Darren should tell their son Samuel the truth about his real father. How can Lucy move forward while she’s rooted in regret? Fate broke her heart in the past. Can finding new love set her free?]]> 352 Jill Santopolo 0593419200 Jayme 4
In “The Light We Lost��, Lucy is faced with a life-altering decision.

But, before she can make that decision, she will reexamine her love story with Gabe-one SHE feels is Epic.

Lucy and Gabe met as seniors at Columbia University on 9/11. And, on that day, they decided that they wanted their lives to mean something, no matter what��

EVEN AT THE EXPENSE OF BEING TOGETHER

Now, it’s ten years later, and we get to find out what has happened in Lucy’s life after the DECISION. (No spoilers here!)

Has it turned out as you may have imagined when the first book ended? Now, you will get the chance to find out.

Have you ever read a sequel and felt like the main character didn’t feel like the same person? I have, but thankfully that is NOT the case here! Jill Santopolo has written Lucy with the SAME Voice as before-and has written what I feel would be a very AUTHENTIC life trajectory for her. I was immediately drawn back into her World from page one!

Life is MESSY, and people are IMPERFECT, and this sequel will give you much to discuss. I never expected we would get to see what happened next-but, I am glad we did!

A buddy read with DeAnn-who may have felt differently! Be sure to watch for her review for additional insight!

If you enjoyed the first-you won’t be disappointed! If you haven’t read it yet- you will want to start there! Review for “The Light We Lost��: /review/show...

Thank You to G.P. Putnam’s Sons for the gifted ARC provided through NetGalley. As always, these are my candid thoughts!]]> 4.00
author: Jill Santopolo
name: Jayme
average rating: 4.00
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/19
date added: 2025/03/18
shelves: buddy-read, netgalley, romance, part-of-a-series
review:
*SPOILER FREE* WILL NOT RUIN THE FIRST BOOK

In “The Light We Lost��, Lucy is faced with a life-altering decision.

But, before she can make that decision, she will reexamine her love story with Gabe-one SHE feels is Epic.

Lucy and Gabe met as seniors at Columbia University on 9/11. And, on that day, they decided that they wanted their lives to mean something, no matter what��

EVEN AT THE EXPENSE OF BEING TOGETHER

Now, it’s ten years later, and we get to find out what has happened in Lucy’s life after the DECISION. (No spoilers here!)

Has it turned out as you may have imagined when the first book ended? Now, you will get the chance to find out.

Have you ever read a sequel and felt like the main character didn’t feel like the same person? I have, but thankfully that is NOT the case here! Jill Santopolo has written Lucy with the SAME Voice as before-and has written what I feel would be a very AUTHENTIC life trajectory for her. I was immediately drawn back into her World from page one!

Life is MESSY, and people are IMPERFECT, and this sequel will give you much to discuss. I never expected we would get to see what happened next-but, I am glad we did!

A buddy read with DeAnn-who may have felt differently! Be sure to watch for her review for additional insight!

If you enjoyed the first-you won’t be disappointed! If you haven’t read it yet- you will want to start there! Review for “The Light We Lost��: /review/show...

Thank You to G.P. Putnam’s Sons for the gifted ARC provided through NetGalley. As always, these are my candid thoughts!
]]> 210693963 One Day meets a contemporary Bridgerton in this high-drama, escapist wonder of a love story, Paige Toon’s best yet.

Three days to fall in love. Six years to try to forget.

Ellie didn’t expect to fall in love while interrailing through Europe. But she also didn’t expect to meet a man like Ash. Three blistering days in Lisbon is all it takes to form an unforgettable connection—a bond deep enough for them to scrap their itineraries and plan to meet again in Spain. But Ellie arrives late, and Ash is nowhere to be found.

Six years later, Ellie has landed her dream job working as a gardener for a viscount and viscountess on their sprawling five-hundred-year-old estate in Wales. She finds peace amongst the towering topiary hedges and colorful gardens, but her idyll is shattered when Ash crashes back into her life. And when it becomes clear why he didn’t show in Madrid, her heart breaks anew—for what the truth means for her, and for his fate.

But they have never been able to resist each another, and when the sparks of their attraction fly, Ellie’s life will catch flame. She will have to make a choice.]]> 416 Paige Toon 1804947873 Jayme 2
I know that Paige Toon started out writing YA, so I had never read her work until she ventured into the Adult market, and I downloaded “Only Love Can Hurt Like This��-which was a 5 ⭐️ read!

I expected this to be another Adult romance since it WASN’T labeled as YA, but this most definitely had a YA feel from start to finish. While there isn’t anything wrong with YA, I am no longer in that demographic, and I wouldn’t have requested this book had it been labeled as such.

And, unfortunately, that wasn’t the only issue that I had��

Ellie was interrailing through Europe, and feeling quite lonely until she met Ash. Three days in Lisbon was all it took for them to fall love and agree to change their itineraries to meet in Spain the following week.

But, Ash ��DZ����’t show.

Fast forward six years- Ellie has landed her dream job working as a gardener on a five-hundred-year-old estate in Wales, which included accommodations in staff cottages. She is warmly welcomed by the other staff members who INSTANTLY treat her like one of the family. These characters were all interchangeable to me-not developed enough to stand out, and a bit “too good to be true��.

And, in the main house are Lords, Ladies, Viscounts and ASH?

She didn’t expect to ever see him again, let alone find him here!

I have read other books, and seen movies where two people traveling meet and agree to reconnect at a later date, because of their strong connection-only to have one person not show because of extenuating circumstances. So, to stand out, this story would have to make me care about these two characters and be rooting for them to find one another again.

It didn’t.

Immaturity, Secrets, Lies, and the constant lack of communication are not the things that build a strong foundation for a lasting relationship.

Nor, did these things make for compelling reading, unfortunately, for this reader. Perhaps it will be more satisfying for those in a younger demographic?

A buddy read with DeAnn. Be sure to watch for her review for additional insight!

Available April 15, 2025.

Thank You to G.P. Putnam’s Sons for the gifted ARC provided through NetGalley. As always, these are my candid thoughts.]]> 4.14 2025
author: Paige Toon
name: Jayme
average rating: 4.14
book published: 2025
rating: 2
read at: 2025/03/17
date added: 2025/03/18
shelves: romance, netgalley, buddy-read
review:
Well, I feel a bit misled by the tags on this one.

I know that Paige Toon started out writing YA, so I had never read her work until she ventured into the Adult market, and I downloaded “Only Love Can Hurt Like This��-which was a 5 ⭐️ read!

I expected this to be another Adult romance since it WASN’T labeled as YA, but this most definitely had a YA feel from start to finish. While there isn’t anything wrong with YA, I am no longer in that demographic, and I wouldn’t have requested this book had it been labeled as such.

And, unfortunately, that wasn’t the only issue that I had��

Ellie was interrailing through Europe, and feeling quite lonely until she met Ash. Three days in Lisbon was all it took for them to fall love and agree to change their itineraries to meet in Spain the following week.

But, Ash ��DZ����’t show.

Fast forward six years- Ellie has landed her dream job working as a gardener on a five-hundred-year-old estate in Wales, which included accommodations in staff cottages. She is warmly welcomed by the other staff members who INSTANTLY treat her like one of the family. These characters were all interchangeable to me-not developed enough to stand out, and a bit “too good to be true��.

And, in the main house are Lords, Ladies, Viscounts and ASH?

She didn’t expect to ever see him again, let alone find him here!

I have read other books, and seen movies where two people traveling meet and agree to reconnect at a later date, because of their strong connection-only to have one person not show because of extenuating circumstances. So, to stand out, this story would have to make me care about these two characters and be rooting for them to find one another again.

It didn’t.

Immaturity, Secrets, Lies, and the constant lack of communication are not the things that build a strong foundation for a lasting relationship.

Nor, did these things make for compelling reading, unfortunately, for this reader. Perhaps it will be more satisfying for those in a younger demographic?

A buddy read with DeAnn. Be sure to watch for her review for additional insight!

Available April 15, 2025.

Thank You to G.P. Putnam’s Sons for the gifted ARC provided through NetGalley. As always, these are my candid thoughts.
]]> 211003802 336 Aggie Blum Thompson 1250892031 Jayme 4 mystery-suspense, library
By the end of this story, there will be a house for sale on Nassau Court in East Bethesda, a Suburb just outside of Washington, DC.

You see-there is a newly released book of auto fiction about three families who lived on this Cul-de-sac. It’s called “You Deserve To Know�� and it’s a tell-all about what happened there-

But how much of it is true?

Gwen and Anton
Aimee and Scott
Lisa and Marcus

The book opens with a transcript from NBC’s Dateline, but we don’t know the identity of the author being interviewed��

And, the story opens with one of the three husbands, Anton whispering “You Deserve to Know�� into the ear of one of the three wives, Aimee, earlier in the evening on the night that he is killed.

Neighborhood Suspense stories are one sub genre that I never seem to grow tired of-and the SECRETS and LIES in this one are as JUICY as the burgers being cooked in the backyards, where the three couples gather every Friday night. ]]> 3.87 2025
author: Aggie Blum Thompson
name: Jayme
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/03/15
date added: 2025/03/17
shelves: mystery-suspense, library
review:
HOUSE FOR SALE

By the end of this story, there will be a house for sale on Nassau Court in East Bethesda, a Suburb just outside of Washington, DC.

You see-there is a newly released book of auto fiction about three families who lived on this Cul-de-sac. It’s called “You Deserve To Know�� and it’s a tell-all about what happened there-

But how much of it is true?

Gwen and Anton
Aimee and Scott
Lisa and Marcus

The book opens with a transcript from NBC’s Dateline, but we don’t know the identity of the author being interviewed��

And, the story opens with one of the three husbands, Anton whispering “You Deserve to Know�� into the ear of one of the three wives, Aimee, earlier in the evening on the night that he is killed.

Neighborhood Suspense stories are one sub genre that I never seem to grow tired of-and the SECRETS and LIES in this one are as JUICY as the burgers being cooked in the backyards, where the three couples gather every Friday night.
]]> 221484756 A woman with a dark past...

Helen Appleby just wants a quiet life. Recently released from prison for the manslaughter of her partner, she's trying to forget her past mistakes �� all of them - to rebuild her life and move on.

When she decides to open a bookshop, she’s certain this is the perfect new start. Here, amongst the quiet shelves of her shop and between the covers of her books, she can hide away from the real world and begin again. The world of books the perfect place to find happiness - even if it is all lies.

But the past can never stay hidden��

As she settles into life as an apparently timid bookseller, it seems that someone is determined to sabotage Helen's new life and ruin everything she's built.

But Helen has killed once before. And to protect her future, she could be willing to kill again...]]> 287 Valerie Keogh 1805494546 Jayme 0 4.05 2025
author: Valerie Keogh
name: Jayme
average rating: 4.05
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/17
shelves: to-read, mystery-suspense, thriller-tbr, already-own
review:

]]> 222347824
2019. Leona Walsh, a 34-year-old wife and mother vanishes on a bitterly cold afternoon while out jogging on the edge of Exmoor. It’s a mystery which captures public interest and ignites wild speculation. The police have a prime suspect: Leona’s husband, Matthew, a renowned crime writer. He can plot the perfect crime. But is he capable of committing the perfect murder?

Despite extensive searches, the police find no trace of Leona and her disappearance remains shrouded in mystery. As public interest dwindles, Matthew returns to raising their two daughters, aware the cloud of suspicion is never far away.

2024. Some human bones are discovered in a garden. Could they be Leona’s remains? And if so, is there enough evidence to find out what really happened five years ago?

Journalist Gabriela Conti covered the news story back in 2019. The police may have stopped watching Matthew, but Gabriella hasn’t forgotten him. And she is determined this case will define her career�� even if that means getting close to a murderer.

‘Engrossing, enthralling, intriguing�� clever structure, and brilliant plotting�� Liz Nugent

'The Crime Writer is an addictive thriller that hooks you from the first page and reveals its secrets with pitch-perfect timing' Sarah Clarke

‘Kept me reading into the early hours �� totally captivating�� Orlando Murrin]]> Diane Jeffrey 0008735573 Jayme 0 3.78
author: Diane Jeffrey
name: Jayme
average rating: 3.78
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/17
shelves: to-read, crime, thriller-tbr, already-own
review:

]]> 223120401 Murder disrupts the peaceful, predictable daily routine of life for four quirky librarians who must protect their life-altering secrets in the first contemporary mystery from USA Today bestselling author Sherry Thomas.

Sometimes a workplace isn’t just a workplace but a place of safety, understanding, and acceptance. And sometimes murder threatens the sanctity of that beloved refuge....

In the leafy suburbs of Austin, Texas, a small branch library welcomes the public every day of the week. But the patrons who love the helpful, unobtrusive staff and leave rave reviews on Yelp don’t always realize that their librarians are human, too.

Hazel flees halfway across the world for what she hopes will be a new beginning. Jonathan, a six-foot-four former college football player, has never fit in anywhere else. Astrid tries to forget her heartbreak by immersing herself in work, but the man who ghosted her six months ago is back, promising trouble. And��Sophie, who has the most to lose, maintains a careful and respectful distance from her coworkers, but soon that won't be enough anymore.

When two patrons turn up dead after the library’s inaugural murder mystery–themed game night, the librarians�� quiet routines come crashing down. Something sinister has stirred, something that threatens every single one of them. And the only way the librarians can save the library—and themselves—is to let go of their secrets, trust one another, and band together....

All in a day’s work.]]> 368 Sherry Thomas 0593640454 Jayme 0 to-read 4.00 2025
author: Sherry Thomas
name: Jayme
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/16
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 218671849 “Terrific.”—��Stephen King on��Whistle

New York Times��bestselling author Linwood Barclay enters new territory with a supernatural chiller in which a woman and her young son move to a small town looking for a fresh start, only to be haunted by disturbing events and strange visions when they find a mysterious train set in a storage shed.

Evil has a one track mind...

Annie Blunt has had an unimaginably terrible year. First, her husband was killed in a tragic hit-and-run accident, then one of the children’s books she’s built her writing and illustrating career on ignited a major scandal. Desperate for a fresh start, she moves with her son Charlie to a charming small town in upstate New York where they can begin to heal.

But Annie’s year is about to get worse.

Bored and lonely in their isolated new surroundings, Charlie is thrilled when he finds a forgotten train set in a locked shed on their property. Annie is glad to see Charlie happy, but there’s something unsettling about his new toy. Strange sounds wake Annie in the night—she could swear she hears a train, but there isn’t an active track for miles—and bizarre things begin happening in the neighborhood. Worse, Annie can’t seem to stop drawing a disturbing new character that has no place in a children’s book.

Grief can do strange things to the mind, but Annie is beginning to think she’s walked out of one nightmare straight into another, only this one is far more terrifying…]]> 464 Linwood Barclay 0063436035 Jayme 0 4.07 2025
author: Linwood Barclay
name: Jayme
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/15
shelves: to-read, horror, mystery-suspense, thriller-tbr
review:

]]> 220235413 From the author of The Other Boleyn Girl, legendary historical novelist Philippa Gregory returns to the court of Henry VIII with this dazzling and provocative tour de force about the high cost of loyalty, love, and betrayal.

Sister. Liar. Spy. Traitor.

Her secrets shaped a kingdom.

Her loyalty was deadly.

Jane Boleyn watches from the shadows of the Tudor court, where nothing is more powerful than a secret. And power rests on the edge of a tyrant King’s sword.

She wears many masks �� loving wife, devoted sister, and obedient spy. It’s what a woman must do to survive.

The only weapon she has is her voice.

They say Jane’s whispers sealed the fate of two queens. They called her a liar and a traitor.

But the truth is far more dangerous��

Philippa Gregory brings the Boleyn traitor out of the shadows in an explosive story of one woman’s survival in the deadly dance of the Tudor Court.]]> 480 Philippa Gregory 0063439689 Jayme 0 to-read 5.00
author: Philippa Gregory
name: Jayme
average rating: 5.00
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/15
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 200209181
Can’t speak�� don’t text or call�� please just come

As Saffy struggles to understand what is happening the phone screen changes:

This message was deleted.

Saffy races to Leona’s house, but when her friend answers the door, she insists everything's fine. She doesn't know anything about the message. Saffy can tell something’s not right, but after looking around the house, she can’t think of anything else she can do.

Six hours later, Saffy gets a knock on the door. It's the police. Leona is missing, with her young child. There's blood everywhere.

And Saffy was the last one to see them alive...]]> 400 K.L. Slater 140596250X Jayme 0 3.79
author: K.L. Slater
name: Jayme
average rating: 3.79
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/15
shelves: to-read, mystery-suspense, already-own
review:

]]> 220160921 A decades-old secret that drove a mother from her hometown now threatens her college-bound daughter in this twisty new thriller from New York Times bestselling author Megan Miranda.

Beckett Bowery never thought she’d return to Wyatt Valley, a picturesque college town in the Virginia mountains steeped in tradition. Her roots there were strong: Beckett’s parents taught at the college, and she never even imagined studying anywhere else—until a tragedy her senior year ended with two local men dead, and her roommate on the run, never to be seen again��

For the last two decades, Beckett has done her best to keep her distance. Then her daughter, Delilah, secretly applies to Wyatt College and earns a full scholarship, and Beckett can only hope that her lingering fears are unfounded. But deep down she knows that Wyatt Valley has a long memory, and that the past isn’t the only dangerous thing in town…]]> 352 Megan Miranda 1668080974 Jayme 0 3.82 2025
author: Megan Miranda
name: Jayme
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/13
shelves: to-read, mystery-suspense, netgalley
review:

]]> 218218740 An American expat‘s startling discovery plunges her into the glamorous but deadly world of Amsterdam’s diamond industry.

Following a nasty divorce, Rayna Dumont came to Amsterdam for a fresh start. She’s never been the type for a one-night stand, but this move is all about adventure, and Xander is handsome and successful and more than willing to go along for the ride. Until the morning after, when Rayna finds him dead on the shower floor and millions of dollars�� worth of diamonds missing from his safe.

From her lavish home in the heart of the city, Willow Prins is captivated by the news. Her husband is Xander’s former boss and heir to a diamond house, and the scandal strains their already-rocky marriage. As the house comes under scrutiny, Willow wonders if her life is about to implode—and how much of the blame she can place on Rayna. Soon, Willow and Rayna are dragged into the dark and dangerous underbelly of the diamond market, where they’ll have to uncover the truth to survive. Who killed Xander? Where are the missing diamonds? And who can you trust in a strange and unfamiliar city thousands of miles from home?]]> 313 Kimberly Belle 0369748433 Jayme 0 4.33
author: Kimberly Belle
name: Jayme
average rating: 4.33
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/13
shelves: to-read, netgalley, mystery-suspense, thriller-tbr
review:

]]> 205060648
One family home. Three generations. What could possibly go wrong?

Carly loves her family. She really does. It’s just that now her three children are grown up, she thought it was her time.

Everyone talks about the empty nest and how difficult that can be, but Carly and her husband, Frank, have often fantasised about it �� meals without arguments, conversation without shouting over the sound of the Xbox, holidays planned around the culture not the kids�� club.

But Carly’s nest is far from empty. Her elderly dad needs more support and is moving in ‘temporarily��. On top of which, Carly’s son, Eddie, is far too comfortable at home �� why go out and get a job, when your parents keep you fed and your clothes laundered? And just when Carly is starting to pull her hair out, Eddie drops a bombshell that changes everything.

Is there room in the nest for one more?

Fiona Gibson is back with her brilliantly funny novel about family, frustrations and finding yourself in the chaos. Perfect for fans of Sophie Kinsella, Milly Johnson and Jill Mansell.
Readers love Fiona Gibson:

'I absolutely love Fiona Gibson's funny, emotional, relatable writing.�� JENNY COLGAN

‘A terrifically entertaining, cheery romance, with an endearing heroine.�� Sunday Mirror

‘Warm, funny and poignant.�� Daily Mail

‘Warm, witty and fun.�� My Weekly

‘The voice of modern women.�� Marie Claire

‘More than funny, it’s true.�� Elle

‘Warm, funny and endearing.�� Best

⭐⭐⭐⭐�� ‘Fiona Gibson always brings funny to her stories. Something special.�� Reader review

⭐⭐⭐⭐�� ‘Fiona Gibson never fails to entertain. Another gem.�� Reader review]]> 384 Fiona Gibson 0008494487 Jayme 4
As if it were meant to be, our librarian Carly finds a book in the non-fiction section that she has never seen before: “The Empty Nester’s Handbook: Living Your Best Life When the Kids Leave Home.��

“Let’s Celebrate your fabulous second act!�� It beckons…and unlike some parents-Carly and Frank can hardly wait!

If only their son 22 year old son Eddie would move out, the adventures could begin-And, then, one day it finally happens!

But, their “empty nest�� ��DZ����’t remain that way for long-as first Carly’s dad needs to move in temporarily, followed closely by Eddie returning home and this time, he ��DZ����’t return alone.

The books spans a period of six months, with each month opening with the header of which family members are CURRENTLY living at Kilmory Cottage, and it unfolds predominately from Carly’s POV.

Will it be just Carly and Frank by the book’s end? Will they find a special way to celebrate? I was entertained as I read to find out!

I discovered this author this past Christmas when I stumbled upon the delightful “Tis the Damn Season��, and I was eager to read more of her work, so I was thrilled that her newest book was available to request.

Although this one didn’t score quite as high for me-I did enjoy it-though I am torn about whether to round up or down. Fiona Gibson creates likable characters and lets them navigate tricky situations with warmth and humor-and sometimes a “feel good�� story like this is exactly what I am looking for! I look forward to discovering more of her work.

Now Available!

Thank You to Avon Books for the gifted ARC provided through NetGalley. As always, these are my candid thoughts!]]> 4.17
author: Fiona Gibson
name: Jayme
average rating: 4.17
book published:
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/22
date added: 2025/03/13
shelves: contemporary-fiction, humor, netgalley, women-s-fiction
review:
3.5 ⭐️

As if it were meant to be, our librarian Carly finds a book in the non-fiction section that she has never seen before: “The Empty Nester’s Handbook: Living Your Best Life When the Kids Leave Home.��

“Let’s Celebrate your fabulous second act!�� It beckons…and unlike some parents-Carly and Frank can hardly wait!

If only their son 22 year old son Eddie would move out, the adventures could begin-And, then, one day it finally happens!

But, their “empty nest�� ��DZ����’t remain that way for long-as first Carly’s dad needs to move in temporarily, followed closely by Eddie returning home and this time, he ��DZ����’t return alone.

The books spans a period of six months, with each month opening with the header of which family members are CURRENTLY living at Kilmory Cottage, and it unfolds predominately from Carly’s POV.

Will it be just Carly and Frank by the book’s end? Will they find a special way to celebrate? I was entertained as I read to find out!

I discovered this author this past Christmas when I stumbled upon the delightful “Tis the Damn Season��, and I was eager to read more of her work, so I was thrilled that her newest book was available to request.

Although this one didn’t score quite as high for me-I did enjoy it-though I am torn about whether to round up or down. Fiona Gibson creates likable characters and lets them navigate tricky situations with warmth and humor-and sometimes a “feel good�� story like this is exactly what I am looking for! I look forward to discovering more of her work.

Now Available!

Thank You to Avon Books for the gifted ARC provided through NetGalley. As always, these are my candid thoughts!
]]> 216970870 What would you do if you thought your coworker was getting away with murder—literally?

Dolores dela Cruz has been dying to spot one in the wild, and he fits the mold strangler gloves, calculated charm, dashing good looks that give a leg up in any field . . . including fields of unmarked graves.

The new office temp is definitely a serial killer.

Jake Ripper finds a welcome distraction in his combative and enigmatic new coworker. He hasn’t come across anyone as interesting as Dolores in a long time. But when mere curiosity evolves into a darkly romantic flirtation, Jake can’t help but wonder if, finally, he’s found someone who really sees him, skeletons in the closet and all.

Until Dolores asks Jake’s help to dispose of a body . . .

A morbidly funny and emotionally resonant novel about the ways life—and love—can sneak up on us (no matter how much pepper spray we carry). ]]> 384 Kate Posey 0593818512 Jayme 0 3.96 2025
author: Kate Posey
name: Jayme
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/13
shelves: to-read, netgalley, maybe, widget-received
review:

]]> 214268974 Date night goes off the rails in this hilariously insightful take on midlife and marriage when one unhappy couple find themselves at the heart of a crime in progress, from the USA Today bestselling author of The Mostly True Story of Tanner & Louise.

Jane and Dan have been married for nineteen years, but Jane isn’t sure they’re going to make it to twenty. The mother of two feels unneeded by her teenagers, and her writing career has screeched to an unsuccessful halt. Her one published novel sold under five hundred copies. Worse? She’s pretty sure Dan is cheating on her. When the couple goes to the renowned upscale restaurant La Fin du Monde to celebrate their anniversary, Jane thinks it’s as good a place as any to tell Dan she wants a divorce.

But before they even get to the second course, an underground climate activist group bursts into the dining room. Jane is shocked—and not just because she’s in a hostage situation the likes of which she’s only seen in the movies. Nearly everything the disorganized and bumbling activists say and do is right out of the pages of her failed book. Even Dan (who Jane wasn’t sure even read her book) admits it’s eerily familiar.

Which means Dan and Jane are the only ones who know what’s going to happen next. And they’re the only ones who can stop it. This wasn’t what Jane was thinking of when she said “’til death do us part�� all those years ago, but if they can survive this, maybe they can survive anything—even marriage.]]> 368 Colleen Oakley 0593200829 Jayme 3
So, nobody is more surprised than I am that this was a bit of a MISS for me, despite the fun and clever premise!

Jane and Dan have been married for nineteen years, (or is it twenty?) but Jane isn’t sure they will make it another year. She decides to ask for a Divorce during their Anniversary dinner at the renowned, upscale and very OVERPRICED restaurant “La Fin du Monde��.

But before they can even finish the second course, (which didn’t sound even remotely appetizing to me!) an underground CLIMATE activist group bursts into the dining room and takes everyone hostage. Their “target�� had reservations at the restaurant for that night-and it appears to be a case of “Wrong Place-Wrong time�� for Jane and Dan.

OR IS IT?

Could it really be a COINCIDENCE that nearly everything that the activists SAY and DO seems to be right out of the pages of Jane’s one and only published book, “Tea is For Terror��?

How can that be when less than 500 copies were ever sold?

Not liking the main protagonist isn’t a problem in a psychological thriller but it is a problem in a story like this one, and I really didn’t like Jane! I didn’t enjoy spending time with her-and the HUMOR didn’t resonate with me either.

This was reminiscent of Fredrik Backman’s very popular “Anxious People��, another book I didn’t care for-so, if you enjoyed that one, you just might love this one too!

Be sure to read a sample of reviews as no book is for every reader and this just may be a better fit for you!

A buddy read with DeAnn. Was it a fit for her?

AVAILABLE NOW!

Thank You to Berkley for the gifted ARC provided through NetGalley. As always, these are my candid thoughts!]]> 3.83 2025
author: Colleen Oakley
name: Jayme
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2024/10/16
date added: 2025/03/12
shelves: contemporary-fiction, influencer-program, netgalley, widget-received
review:
I have read (and loved) everything that this author has written, with “The Invisible Husband of Frick Island�� being an all time favorite. So when offered a VERY early copy of this book, I jumped at the chance to read it, and moved it ahead of several others which are publishing much sooner-I just couldn’t wait!

So, nobody is more surprised than I am that this was a bit of a MISS for me, despite the fun and clever premise!

Jane and Dan have been married for nineteen years, (or is it twenty?) but Jane isn’t sure they will make it another year. She decides to ask for a Divorce during their Anniversary dinner at the renowned, upscale and very OVERPRICED restaurant “La Fin du Monde��.

But before they can even finish the second course, (which didn’t sound even remotely appetizing to me!) an underground CLIMATE activist group bursts into the dining room and takes everyone hostage. Their “target�� had reservations at the restaurant for that night-and it appears to be a case of “Wrong Place-Wrong time�� for Jane and Dan.

OR IS IT?

Could it really be a COINCIDENCE that nearly everything that the activists SAY and DO seems to be right out of the pages of Jane’s one and only published book, “Tea is For Terror��?

How can that be when less than 500 copies were ever sold?

Not liking the main protagonist isn’t a problem in a psychological thriller but it is a problem in a story like this one, and I really didn’t like Jane! I didn’t enjoy spending time with her-and the HUMOR didn’t resonate with me either.

This was reminiscent of Fredrik Backman’s very popular “Anxious People��, another book I didn’t care for-so, if you enjoyed that one, you just might love this one too!

Be sure to read a sample of reviews as no book is for every reader and this just may be a better fit for you!

A buddy read with DeAnn. Was it a fit for her?

AVAILABLE NOW!

Thank You to Berkley for the gifted ARC provided through NetGalley. As always, these are my candid thoughts!
]]> 223227754 Ginny Cole ��DZ����’t want to be a widow. She’d rather not be forcibly adopted by an opinionated black cat. And she’d give anything not to have just found the murdered body of her rude and dislikeable new boss��

So she’s as surprised as anyone to realise that she ��DZ����’t hate being on the wrong side of the law, searching a graveyard for evidence in the company of three fellow widows, and doing a whole host of un-Ginny-like things in order to solve a fiendish mystery.

It was a bumpy start, but Ginny might even be starting to like her new life. Certainly well enough that when her sleuthing puts her too close for the killer’s comfort, she’ll do whatever it takes to hold onto it��

If you love Sarah Yarwood-Lovett, Robert Thorogood and The Thursday Murder Club mysteries, you’ll adore this charming cozy mystery full of page-turning twists and endearing characters.]]> 264 Amanda Ashby 1805087940 Jayme 0 3.98
author: Amanda Ashby
name: Jayme
average rating: 3.98
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/11
shelves: to-read, already-own, cozy, crime
review:

]]> 213618135 In the aftermath of a shocking breakup, a woman's desperate quest for answers ignites a psychological inferno that will consume her past, present, and future in this hair-raising debut from an exciting new voice in suspense . . .

She’s been ghosted. But she won’t be forgotten.

Claire is excited to drop off a surprise workday lunch for her fiancé, Noah. It’s their anniversary, after all. But when the receptionist tells her that no one with Noah's name works there, Claire thinks there must be a mistake.

Noah isn't picking up her calls. Her texts go unanswered. It turns out Noah has a different life . . . one with a beautiful girlfriend, a beautiful house. Claire was never really in the picture.

Desperate to unpack all of Noah’s lies, Claire plunges into a nightmarish journey of obsession that submerges her deeper into the murky waters of her own past—a past dominated by a manipulative mother who shattered her sense of self.

Will Claire break free from the ghosts that haunt her? Or will they become more costly than any of Noah's lies?]]> 288 Callie Kazumi 0593871634 Jayme 4 If a man walks away, hold your head high and LET HIM!

Claire is excited to drop off a surprise workday lunch for her fiancé Noah on their anniversary, but the surprise is on her when the receptionist tells her that no one with Noah's name works there.

Suddenly, he isn't picking up her calls or answering her texts.

She has been ghosted!

With her new friend Sukhi by her side, Claire is determined to get answers. In fact, she becomes OBSESSED.

But, she REFUSES to believe the things that they find.

This psychological thriller opens with a MURDER, and ends with a Courtroom TRIAL, but in between you will learn about all of the ways Noah has humiliated her in the present and all of the ways her MOTHER has abused her in the past-IF you can believe everything that Claire (and her diary entries) are telling you��..

As a reader of MANY books in this genre, I could predict where much of this was going BUT despite that, the story DID hold my attention throughout and offered up a fun, memorable ending!

A promising debut! I will definitely pick up the author’s next!

3.75 ⭐️ rounded ⬆️

A buddy read with MarilynW. Be sure to watch for her review to see if she had fun with this one too!

Available NOW!

Thank You to Bantam for the gifted ARC provided through NetGalley. As always, these are my candid thoughts!]]> 3.67 2025
author: Callie Kazumi
name: Jayme
average rating: 3.67
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/11
date added: 2025/03/11
shelves: psychological-thriller, buddy-read, netgalley, widget-received, publisher-s-invitation
review:
Oh Claire Darling!
If a man walks away, hold your head high and LET HIM!

Claire is excited to drop off a surprise workday lunch for her fiancé Noah on their anniversary, but the surprise is on her when the receptionist tells her that no one with Noah's name works there.

Suddenly, he isn't picking up her calls or answering her texts.

She has been ghosted!

With her new friend Sukhi by her side, Claire is determined to get answers. In fact, she becomes OBSESSED.

But, she REFUSES to believe the things that they find.

This psychological thriller opens with a MURDER, and ends with a Courtroom TRIAL, but in between you will learn about all of the ways Noah has humiliated her in the present and all of the ways her MOTHER has abused her in the past-IF you can believe everything that Claire (and her diary entries) are telling you��..

As a reader of MANY books in this genre, I could predict where much of this was going BUT despite that, the story DID hold my attention throughout and offered up a fun, memorable ending!

A promising debut! I will definitely pick up the author’s next!

3.75 ⭐️ rounded ⬆️

A buddy read with MarilynW. Be sure to watch for her review to see if she had fun with this one too!

Available NOW!

Thank You to Bantam for the gifted ARC provided through NetGalley. As always, these are my candid thoughts!
]]> 222824481
Opening the front door, I’m stunned to see a familiar face. I never thought I’d see Freddie’s deep brown eyes and crooked smile again. But how is this possible when he died ten years ago��?

It took years to move on, but finally my life is almost perfect. I live in a gorgeous house with my handsome second husband Carter, my two daughters and our adorable baby boy. I’ve never stopped missing Freddie or wondering what happened to him. But now he’s here and staring right at me �� and my head is spinning with questions.

Then Freddie says, ‘Don’t trust Carter.�� It sends shivers down my spine. Freddie and Carter used to be best friends. So what does he mean? Carter has been my shoulder to cry on, my rock. He’s helped me through the darkest times. I trust him with my life�� don’t I?

Who is telling the truth: my first husband or my second husband? And could one of them be behind the threatening notes I’ve been receiving?

I have to make the right choice. My life depends on it��

An absolutely addictive page-turner with heart-pounding twists from beginning to end. Fans of The Woman in the Window, Shari Lapena, Lisa Jewell and The Housemaid won’t be able toput this down!]]> 366 A.J. McDine 1835259375 Jayme 3
Where has he been? And, why is he back now that she has finally moved on?

“DON’T TRUST CARTER�� he says speaking about his former best friend- who is now her SECOND husband.

“I KNOW THE TRUTH�� one of the eight anonymous notes, slipped through the mailbox reads��

Who should she trust? Her first husband or her second husband? And WHO is behind the cryptic notes that she has been receiving?

]]> 4.16
author: A.J. McDine
name: Jayme
average rating: 4.16
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/08
date added: 2025/03/09
shelves: domestic-suspense, netgalley, psychological-thriller
review:
Alex thought her FIRST husband, Freddie, died ten years ago, after he walked out one night and never came home. So, after seven years she had him declared dead. So obviously, she was shocked when she opened her front door one day and saw his once familiar face.

Where has he been? And, why is he back now that she has finally moved on?

“DON’T TRUST CARTER�� he says speaking about his former best friend- who is now her SECOND husband.

“I KNOW THE TRUTH�� one of the eight anonymous notes, slipped through the mailbox reads��

Who should she trust? Her first husband or her second husband? And WHO is behind the cryptic notes that she has been receiving?


]]> 220459022 A millionaire and a housecleaner are a match maid in heaven in this sparkling new romantic comedy by Lynn Painter, New York Times bestselling author of Happily Never After.

As a professional cleaner, Abi Mariano never thought her apartment would have any sort of infestation, but because of a building-wide outbreak, she now needs somewhere to stay for a week. As a part-time student with two jobs, she ��DZ����’t have many options. Then the solution presents the owner of the penthouse she cleans is out of town for the week. She normally wouldn’t consider it, but he’s literally never around (she’s never even met him). It goes great…until she comes out of the bedroom one morning to find two strangers in the kitchen. They’re the parents of the penthouse owner and they seem to think they’ve heard all about Abi—not as their son’s maid, but as his girlfriend.

Declan Powell has always put his career first, working his way up to executive vice president at Hathaway Holdings, but he still has his eyes set on the next level. When his parents mention they met his girlfriend Abi, he all but chokes on his escargot. As great as it sounds that she was just darling, he ��DZ����’t actually have a girlfriend—he made her up to get everyone off his back. When Dex finds out who Abi really is, he makes her a pretend to date him, and he’ll provide everything she needs during their little arrangement. What harm would it do? It’s purely business, no pleasure…right?]]> Lynn Painter 0593638042 Jayme 0 4.00 2025
author: Lynn Painter
name: Jayme
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/07
shelves: to-read, buddy-read, netgalley, publisher-s-invitation, rom_com
review:

]]> 220212930 The acclaimed author of the ��lyrical coming-of-age novel�� (Good Morning America) The People We Keep returns with a luminous new story of redemption, breaking generational curses, and the power of family in its truest form.

After an emergency leaves her short on rent, thirty-year-old Freya Arnalds bails on her lackluster life as bartender in Maine and returns to her suburban hometown of Somers, New York, to live in the house she inherited from her estranged parents. Despite attempts to lay low, Freya encounters childhood friends, familial enemies, and old flames—as well as her fifteen-year-old niece, Aubrey, who is secretly living in the derelict home. As they reconnect, Freya and Aubrey lean on each other, working to restore the house and come to terms with the devastating events that pulled them apart years ago.

Set in the birthplace of the American circus, this deeply moving novel is an exploration of broken families, the weight of the past, and the complicated journey of finding home.]]> Allison Larkin 1668008432 Jayme 0 5.00 2025
author: Allison Larkin
name: Jayme
average rating: 5.00
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/07
shelves: to-read, buddy-read, contemporary-fiction, netgalley
review:

]]> 222179779 Hannah Richell

An abandoned resort seems the perfect place to hide, but is Barren Cape a refuge or a trap?
��
Former housemates Mac and Erika are homeless.
��
Well, Erika is fine, she just has to live with her parents until she can find another rental. Mac's situation is much worse �� family isn't an option and she's surfing the couches of her increasingly exasperated friends.
��
Driving around one lonely afternoon, Mac discovers Barren Cape. Once destined to be a luxury escape, now it's just wire fence and gray cement.

It's stark, but quiet. There's no harm in staying a little while…��
��
From the bestselling author of��The Rush comes a spine-chilling thriller about what happens when people are pushed to the edge and forced to make unthinkable choices.

‘Taut, terrifying and timely�� B.M. Carroll

‘Prak’s books keep you reading long into the night�� Vikki Petraitis
��]]> Michelle Prak 1761428446 Jayme 0 to-read, thriller-tbr 4.09
author: Michelle Prak
name: Jayme
average rating: 4.09
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/06
shelves: to-read, thriller-tbr
review:

]]> 221317847 What holds a strong and loving marriage together? Lies and secrets in a novel of twisting psychological suspense by a New York Times bestselling author.

Los Angeles homicide detective Dinah Marino may have a complicated relationship with her family, but her psychiatrist husband, Joe, makes her feel safe, secure, and happy. She couldn’t want for a more loving or trusting man. But throughout their ten-year marriage, she’s been keeping a secret from him—a secret she’d take to the grave.

Dr. Joe Marino loves his wife more than anything in this world, but there are things he’s learned to keep close to the chest. When a missing woman tied to his wife’s latest case is admitted to his hospital, doctor-patient confidentiality lands their marriage on some new and uneven ground.

As Dinah digs deeper into her case, tension works its way inside their picture-perfect home. Now the carefully constructed lies between them don’t just simply threaten the delicate balance of their marriage—they could kill.]]> 254 A.R. Torre 1662519591 Jayme 3
Each will tell you that TRUST plays a big part in their success and yet, Dinah has never revealed her biggest secret to Joe, and she isn’t inclined to tell him about the good looking new rookie, Freddie Hodgkins, who has been assigned to trail her on her latest case.

Joe is a loving husband who remembers every Anniversary, all of Dinah�� s preferences and every item on his “honey-do�� list. But, he also remembers every misstep-every mistake, and he isn’t very forgiving when Dinah ��DZ����’t follow the rules that they have agreed upon together.

And, Dinah’s new case, involving a Mother who has been found dead under questionable circumstances, and her daughter who is now missing, will threaten the delicate balance of their happy, happy marriage��.

A TALE OF TWO HALVES

This book started out strong, and it hooked me right away with Torre’s engaging writing style, DISTURBING premise, and short, snappy chapters, which allow you read “just one more��!

I was ALL-IN.

But, unfortunately, at the 50% mark, the story lost its way.

It focused on one “over the top�� plot point while failing to flesh out the others. I was left with MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS, and I wanted more background on how Joe and Dinah got together, what happened to her former partner, Oley, and what was happening with Freddie Hodgkins involvement in the case.

At only 254 pages, this story felt INCOMPLETE-and for that reason, it was a bit of a MISS for me.

]]> 3.38
author: A.R. Torre
name: Jayme
average rating: 3.38
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2025/03/06
date added: 2025/03/06
shelves: buddy-read, netgalley, psychological-thriller
review:
Los Angeles homicide detective Dinah Marino has been happily married to Dr. Joe Marino for ten years.

Each will tell you that TRUST plays a big part in their success and yet, Dinah has never revealed her biggest secret to Joe, and she isn’t inclined to tell him about the good looking new rookie, Freddie Hodgkins, who has been assigned to trail her on her latest case.

Joe is a loving husband who remembers every Anniversary, all of Dinah�� s preferences and every item on his “honey-do�� list. But, he also remembers every misstep-every mistake, and he isn’t very forgiving when Dinah ��DZ����’t follow the rules that they have agreed upon together.

And, Dinah’s new case, involving a Mother who has been found dead under questionable circumstances, and her daughter who is now missing, will threaten the delicate balance of their happy, happy marriage��.

A TALE OF TWO HALVES

This book started out strong, and it hooked me right away with Torre’s engaging writing style, DISTURBING premise, and short, snappy chapters, which allow you read “just one more��!

I was ALL-IN.

But, unfortunately, at the 50% mark, the story lost its way.

It focused on one “over the top�� plot point while failing to flesh out the others. I was left with MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS, and I wanted more background on how Joe and Dinah got together, what happened to her former partner, Oley, and what was happening with Freddie Hodgkins involvement in the case.

At only 254 pages, this story felt INCOMPLETE-and for that reason, it was a bit of a MISS for me.


]]> 215811258 A world-famous artist. A fatal brush with death.

At a star-studded opening night for the Royal Academy’s celebration of renowned artist Max Bruce, someone is hiding a dark secret.

As the night reaches its climax and Max addresses his admirers, the occasion takes a shocking turn when a protester runs from the crowd and sprays the artist
with blue paint.

Max collapses and it soon turns out that the paint was laced with cyanide. Someone has been plotting to kill him.

All evidence points to the protestor �� and newly qualified barrister Adam Green is assigned the impossible task of their defence.

But could there be others who wanted Max dead?
____________

Praise for Rob Rinder . . .

'Hugely enjoyable!' Steve Cavanagh
'Ridiculously entertaining' Tom Hindle
'I did not want it to end' Heidi Perks
'Strong storytelling with a murder mystery at its heart makes it one to treasure' Daily Mail
'A pacy and gripping read' The Sun]]> Rob Rinder 1804950556 Jayme 0 to-read 4.20
author: Rob Rinder
name: Jayme
average rating: 4.20
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/05
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 215541906 I have one thing to do before I die.
And time is running out.

I had it all: a fantastic husband, two great kids, an exciting career. And then, at the age of forty-three, I found out I would be dead before my next birthday.

My mother also died at forty-three. I was seventeen, and she warned me that women would flock to my suddenly single father like stray cats to an overturned milk truck. They did. And one absolutely evil woman practically destroyed his life, mine, and my sister’s.

I am not letting that happen to my family.

I have three months, and I plan to spend every waking minute searching for the perfect woman to take my place as Alex’s wife, and mother to Kevin and Katie.

You’re probably thinking, she’ll never do it. Did I mention that in high school I was voted “Most Likely to Kill Someone to Get What She Wants��?

From thriller writer Marshall Karp (cocreator with James Patterson of the #1 New York Times bestselling NYPD Red series), and rich with Karp’s deft array of three-dimensional characters and his signature biting humor, Don’t Tell Me How to Die has so many twists and turns, you’d swear he wrote it with a corkscrew.]]> Marshall Karp Jayme 5
Because it’s ADDICTIVE reading, it’s ORIGINAL, and it’s TWISTY in all the best ways. I couldn’t put it down!!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Maggie and Lizzie lost their mother when they were only seventeen. She died from a rare blood Cancer but before she did, she sat her daughters down and she warned them that women would flock to her suddenly single husband “like stray cats to an overturned milk truck�� and that the girls would have to protect him.

THE WOMEN CAME-carrying home cooked meals in casserole dishes that would have to be collected a few days later. But, the sisters washed those dishes and delivered them back to their owners before the women could return.

But one managed to sneak her way into the fold��.

So when Maggie discovers at age 43, that she too has the disease-she is determined to get ahead of the women who will prey upon her own husband.

And, the woman voted “Most Likely to Kill Someone to Get What She Wants�� is determined to succeed at any cost.

Is the omission of a FEW facts, really lying?

DOESN’T EVERYONE HAVE AT LEAST ONE SECRET?

This book unfolds in THREE parts, PAST and PRESENT and PART ONE (46% of the book) reads more like a heartbreaking ]]> 4.53 2025
author: Marshall Karp
name: Jayme
average rating: 4.53
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2025/01/26
date added: 2025/03/04
shelves: psychological-thriller, thriller-tbr
review:
WHY is this book getting so many 5 STAR reviews?

Because it’s ADDICTIVE reading, it’s ORIGINAL, and it’s TWISTY in all the best ways. I couldn’t put it down!!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Maggie and Lizzie lost their mother when they were only seventeen. She died from a rare blood Cancer but before she did, she sat her daughters down and she warned them that women would flock to her suddenly single husband “like stray cats to an overturned milk truck�� and that the girls would have to protect him.

THE WOMEN CAME-carrying home cooked meals in casserole dishes that would have to be collected a few days later. But, the sisters washed those dishes and delivered them back to their owners before the women could return.

But one managed to sneak her way into the fold��.

So when Maggie discovers at age 43, that she too has the disease-she is determined to get ahead of the women who will prey upon her own husband.

And, the woman voted “Most Likely to Kill Someone to Get What She Wants�� is determined to succeed at any cost.

Is the omission of a FEW facts, really lying?

DOESN’T EVERYONE HAVE AT LEAST ONE SECRET?

This book unfolds in THREE parts, PAST and PRESENT and PART ONE (46% of the book) reads more like a heartbreaking
]]> 211003787 From New York Times bestseller and Edgar-Award nominee Elle Cosimano, comes Finlay Donovan Digs Her Own Grave—the hugely anticipated next installment in the fan-favorite Finlay Donovan series.

Finlay Donovan may have skeletons in her closet . . . but at least there's not a body in her backyard.

Finlay Donovan and her nanny/partner-in-crime, Vero, have not always gotten along with Finlay’s elderly neighbor, Mrs. Haggerty, the community busybody and president of the neighborhood watch. But when a dead body is discovered in her backyard, Mrs. Haggerty needs their help. At first a suspect, Mrs. Haggerty is cleared by the police, but her house remains an active crime scene. She has nowhere to go . . . except Finlay’s house, right across the street.

Finlay and Vero have no interest in getting involved in another murder case—or sacrificing either of their bedrooms. After all, they’ve dealt with enough murders over the last four months to last a lifetime and they both would much rather share their beds with someone else.]]> 320 Elle Cosimano 1250337348 Jayme 4
AUDIOBOOK:
9 hours 11 minutes at 1x, 6 hours 7 minutes at 1.5x or 5 hours, 15 minutes at 1.75x

How apropos that Janet Evanovich promotes this book on the cover~I have always said that these books were perfect for fans of her Stephanie Plum stories!

If you haven’t read any of the Finlay Donovan books yet- I do recommend that you read them in order-but you can click on my spoiler free review for the first book to get a hint of what to expect!
Review: /review/show...

Each book ends with a cliffhanger, so we pick up right where we left off last time��

Finlay Donovan has just submitted her latest book-so she should have some time to relax, and maybe get to know her “hot cop boyfriend Nick�� just a little bit better. But when a dead body is discovered in her nosy neighbor’s backyard, the neighbor-Mrs. Haggerty-will need Finlay and Vero’s help.

Initially, Mrs. Haggerty is the prime suspect.

Although SHE is quickly cleared by the police, her house, unfortunately, remains an active crime scene. With nowhere else to go she ends up moving into Finlay’s house temporarily-since she is right across the street-despite the fact that the two have not always seen eye to eye on things!

Instead of being a grateful guest, she is demanding grocery runs, and rides to her book club meetings, but she does chip in on home schooling and childcare while staying with Finlay and her scenes with Finlay’s children are some of the funniest in the book!

I have to admit, I haven’t had this much fun reading a Finlay Donovan book since the first one, and I wasn’t sure that I wanted to continue the series. It had become too slapstick for me with all of the caricature mafia characters in books two through four-but once I heard that Mrs. Haggerty would be back-I was all in and she didn’t disappoint! (She is a SCENE STEALER !)

As always-we have a cliffhanger at the end-so it does look like this series will continue��

I paired my reading with the AUDIOBOOK, narrated (as always) by the fabulous Angela Dawe-This happens to be a series that I prefer LISTENING TO! ]]> 4.18 2025
author: Elle Cosimano
name: Jayme
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/06
date added: 2025/03/04
shelves: contemporary-fiction, crime, humor, maybe, netgalley, part-of-a-series, publisher-s-invitation, widget-received, audible
review:
4.5 ⭐️

AUDIOBOOK:
9 hours 11 minutes at 1x, 6 hours 7 minutes at 1.5x or 5 hours, 15 minutes at 1.75x

How apropos that Janet Evanovich promotes this book on the cover~I have always said that these books were perfect for fans of her Stephanie Plum stories!

If you haven’t read any of the Finlay Donovan books yet- I do recommend that you read them in order-but you can click on my spoiler free review for the first book to get a hint of what to expect!
Review: /review/show...

Each book ends with a cliffhanger, so we pick up right where we left off last time��

Finlay Donovan has just submitted her latest book-so she should have some time to relax, and maybe get to know her “hot cop boyfriend Nick�� just a little bit better. But when a dead body is discovered in her nosy neighbor’s backyard, the neighbor-Mrs. Haggerty-will need Finlay and Vero’s help.

Initially, Mrs. Haggerty is the prime suspect.

Although SHE is quickly cleared by the police, her house, unfortunately, remains an active crime scene. With nowhere else to go she ends up moving into Finlay’s house temporarily-since she is right across the street-despite the fact that the two have not always seen eye to eye on things!

Instead of being a grateful guest, she is demanding grocery runs, and rides to her book club meetings, but she does chip in on home schooling and childcare while staying with Finlay and her scenes with Finlay’s children are some of the funniest in the book!

I have to admit, I haven’t had this much fun reading a Finlay Donovan book since the first one, and I wasn’t sure that I wanted to continue the series. It had become too slapstick for me with all of the caricature mafia characters in books two through four-but once I heard that Mrs. Haggerty would be back-I was all in and she didn’t disappoint! (She is a SCENE STEALER !)

As always-we have a cliffhanger at the end-so it does look like this series will continue��

I paired my reading with the AUDIOBOOK, narrated (as always) by the fabulous Angela Dawe-This happens to be a series that I prefer LISTENING TO!
]]> 215003803 From critically acclaimed author Jon Bassoff, The Memory Ward is a haunting Russian doll of a novel about one man’s attempt to discover what’s real and what isn’t ��

They say it’s always beautiful in Bethlam, Nevada. No place you’d rather live. The people are friendly, if a little nosy, and there’s no crime to speak of. Life is pretty perfect.

But postal worker Hank Davies has started to suspect something is off in this idyllic little town. And he’s certain of that when he realizes the letters he’s been delivering are just blank pages.

Hank isn’t the only one who’s noticed the oddities in Bethlam. One such person knocks on his window in the middle of the night, urging him to investigate his bedroom wall. When Hank pulls back the wallpaper, he discovers dozens of sheets of paper, full of a story that is either complete madness or unbelievable truth. As he begins looking beyond the veneer of his smiling neighbors and their white picket fences, Hank is drawn further and further into a disturbing new reality ��

Told in Bassoff’s lyrical and evocative style, The Memory Ward is a disquieting page-turner that examines the nature of identity, trauma, and what it means to be human.]]> 256 Jon Bassoff Jayme 3 crime, horror, netgalley
Life is GOOD in the idyllic small town of Bethlam, Nevada.-population around 500.

The neighbors are friendly, the weather always beautiful and crime is nonexistent.

It’s a life of routine for postal worker Hank Davies until one day something different happens when he trips over a tree branch and some letters fall out of his mailbag. One becomes unsealed and he is shocked, and confused by what he finds-the letters he’s been delivering are just blank pages.

His curiosity is piqued so he opens a couple more.

Three envelopes-three different senders-three different recipients-all blank.

What could it possibly mean? What is going on?

Well, I was INTRIGUED right along with Hank, BUT I CANNOT say that I ENJOYED this dark story-and I didn’t find the reveal very surprising either.

I can’t say much more, or I would risk spoilers, so I will keep this brief.

What I can say is that although it wasn’t a book for ME-you will PROBABLY enjoy it if you enjoyed the 2022 Oscar nominated film, “Don’t Worry Darling�� or Jim Carrey’s movie called “The Truman Show��. Proof of that is the many 4 and 5 star reviews that have been written for this book, so be sure to seek out other opinions as well as mine.

Available Now

Thank You to Blackstone Publishing for the gifted ARC provided through NetGalley. As always, these are my candid thoughts!]]> 3.74
author: Jon Bassoff
name: Jayme
average rating: 3.74
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/05
date added: 2025/03/04
shelves: crime, horror, netgalley
review:
I was introduced to the author’s work when I read the very unique “Beneath Cruel Waters, in 2023, so I was excited to see that he had a new book coming out in March, and this one sounded equally as fascinating.

Life is GOOD in the idyllic small town of Bethlam, Nevada.-population around 500.

The neighbors are friendly, the weather always beautiful and crime is nonexistent.

It’s a life of routine for postal worker Hank Davies until one day something different happens when he trips over a tree branch and some letters fall out of his mailbag. One becomes unsealed and he is shocked, and confused by what he finds-the letters he’s been delivering are just blank pages.

His curiosity is piqued so he opens a couple more.

Three envelopes-three different senders-three different recipients-all blank.

What could it possibly mean? What is going on?

Well, I was INTRIGUED right along with Hank, BUT I CANNOT say that I ENJOYED this dark story-and I didn’t find the reveal very surprising either.

I can’t say much more, or I would risk spoilers, so I will keep this brief.

What I can say is that although it wasn’t a book for ME-you will PROBABLY enjoy it if you enjoyed the 2022 Oscar nominated film, “Don’t Worry Darling�� or Jim Carrey’s movie called “The Truman Show��. Proof of that is the many 4 and 5 star reviews that have been written for this book, so be sure to seek out other opinions as well as mine.

Available Now

Thank You to Blackstone Publishing for the gifted ARC provided through NetGalley. As always, these are my candid thoughts!
]]> 221146758 A retired serial killer’s quiet life is upended by an unexpected visitor. To protect her secret, there’s only one option left—what’s another murder? From bestselling author Samantha Downing.

Lottie Jones thought her crimes were behind her.

Decades earlier, she changed her identity and tucked herself away in a small town. Her most exciting nights are the weekly bingo games at the local church and gossiping with her friends.

When investigative journalist Plum Dixon shows up on her doorstep asking questions about Lottie’s past and specifically her involvement with numerous unsolved cases, well, Lottie just can’t have that.

But getting away with murder is hard enough when you’re young. And when Lottie receives another annoying knock on the door, she realizes this crime might just be the death of her…]]> Samantha Downing 0593101057 Jayme 5
“Chamomile or Peppermint?��

Lottie Jones, a 75 year old retired serial killer, does not approve of guests knocking on her door UNINVITED, but she will still smile and invite them in, offering tea and cookies because she is nothing if not polite. ]]> 4.50 2025
author: Samantha Downing
name: Jayme
average rating: 4.50
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/02
date added: 2025/03/04
shelves: favorite-a-author, psychological-thriller, netgalley
review:
*My Most Anticipated Psychological Thriller Read for 2025* and it Didn’t Disappoint!!

“Chamomile or Peppermint?��

Lottie Jones, a 75 year old retired serial killer, does not approve of guests knocking on her door UNINVITED, but she will still smile and invite them in, offering tea and cookies because she is nothing if not polite.
]]> 212031069 From USA Today bestselling author Audrey J. Cole comes a harrowing thriller about a woman faced with the unthinkable, when her infant goes missing aboard a plane to New York.

Rushing back to her seat, Makayla Rossi is relieved that all’s still quiet. But when she checks on her sleeping baby, relief morphs into fear. The bassinet is empty.

Liam is gone.

It was a long flight from Anchorage to New York, and with every flight attendant busy, Makayla reluctantly ran to the restroom, asking a seat neighbor to watch her son. She stepped away for just a few minutes. Yet at thirty thousand feet, he still vanished.

Passengers and crew scour the plane to no avail, and since no one recalls seeing her with a baby, suspicions begin to mount about Makayla’s mental state. She’s certain this is nothing like her mother’s on-air memory meltdown. If only Jack, her husband, were there. He would believe her. A high-profile banker featured in Forbes, maybe he could even help.

But Makayla is squarely on her own. And she’ll have to think fast in order to find her son—before it’s too late.]]> 285 Audrey J. Cole 1662520700 Jayme 4 3.75 2025
author: Audrey J. Cole
name: Jayme
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2024/12/06
date added: 2025/03/02
shelves: thriller-tbr, netgalley, mystery-suspense
review:

]]> 217387838 The latest gripping serial killer thriller from the New York Times bestselling author Alex North.

Dan Garvie’s life has been haunted by the crime he witnessed as a child—narrowly escaping an encounter with a notorious serial killer. He has dedicated his life since to becoming a criminal profiler, eager to seek justice for innocent victims. So when his father passes away under suspicious circumstances, Dan revisits his small island community, determined to uncover the truth about his death. Is it possible that the monster he remembers from his childhood nightmares has returned after all these years?

With his signature shock and suspense, Alex North brings us The Man Made of Smoke. In turn emotional, introspective, and utterly terrifying, this is a story of fathers and sons, shadows and secrets, and the fight we all face to escape the trauma of the past.]]> 320 Alex North 1250757894 Jayme 4
“NOBODY SEES and NOBODY CARES��

On the drive home from a visit to the Zoo, the Garvies pulled into a rest stop for refreshments. Young Dan Garvie decided to use the rest room, and in it he ran across a young boy with a dirt streaked face and eyes which seemed to beg for help.

Too young to know what to do-but not too young to recognize danger-he hid. A whistling man, would usher those words- “Nobody Sees, and Nobody Cares�� as he left with the boy.

Not much later, Dan would learn that he had crossed paths with a serial killer who would be dubbed, “The Pied Piper��.

Narrowly escaping the fate, that would befall the boy in the restroom, would haunt Dan Garvie. He became obsessed with a book about the case-“The Man Made of Smoke�� by Terrance O’Hare, and he would grow up to become a criminal Profiler-trying to make sense of the “human monsters�� who inflict that kind of pain on others.

His father John, a Policeman, would spend his retirement years, trying to solve the cold case too.

Dan gets a call summoning him back home, when his father commits “Suicide�� but the circumstances surrounding his death seem suspicious, and it’s soon apparent that despite the many years that have passed-this case still has both men firmly in its grip��.

This was an engaging slow burn mystery with a strong sense of foreboding from the opening pages-the kind of book that has you double checking the locks on your doors and drawing the blinds tightly shut. Nothing disturbs me more than TRUE CRIME or books that read like such, as this does.

Alex North has done it again!

You can pick up your copy on May 13, 2025 or if you are lucky enough to have a LFL (Little Free Library) near you-you might get to borrow a copy TODAY as early readers like myself will be dropping off our copies to these libraries on March 1, 2025 behalf of Celadon books!

Happy Hunting! I just dropped off my copy in Gilbert AZ! Need a hint? The photo of the LFL is in my profile pics! ]]> 4.27 2025
author: Alex North
name: Jayme
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/25
date added: 2025/03/01
shelves: mystery-suspense, already-own, buddy-read, physical-arc-received, publisher-s-invitation, crime
review:
4.5 ⭐️

“NOBODY SEES and NOBODY CARES��

On the drive home from a visit to the Zoo, the Garvies pulled into a rest stop for refreshments. Young Dan Garvie decided to use the rest room, and in it he ran across a young boy with a dirt streaked face and eyes which seemed to beg for help.

Too young to know what to do-but not too young to recognize danger-he hid. A whistling man, would usher those words- “Nobody Sees, and Nobody Cares�� as he left with the boy.

Not much later, Dan would learn that he had crossed paths with a serial killer who would be dubbed, “The Pied Piper��.

Narrowly escaping the fate, that would befall the boy in the restroom, would haunt Dan Garvie. He became obsessed with a book about the case-“The Man Made of Smoke�� by Terrance O’Hare, and he would grow up to become a criminal Profiler-trying to make sense of the “human monsters�� who inflict that kind of pain on others.

His father John, a Policeman, would spend his retirement years, trying to solve the cold case too.

Dan gets a call summoning him back home, when his father commits “Suicide�� but the circumstances surrounding his death seem suspicious, and it’s soon apparent that despite the many years that have passed-this case still has both men firmly in its grip��.

This was an engaging slow burn mystery with a strong sense of foreboding from the opening pages-the kind of book that has you double checking the locks on your doors and drawing the blinds tightly shut. Nothing disturbs me more than TRUE CRIME or books that read like such, as this does.

Alex North has done it again!

You can pick up your copy on May 13, 2025 or if you are lucky enough to have a LFL (Little Free Library) near you-you might get to borrow a copy TODAY as early readers like myself will be dropping off our copies to these libraries on March 1, 2025 behalf of Celadon books!

Happy Hunting! I just dropped off my copy in Gilbert AZ! Need a hint? The photo of the LFL is in my profile pics!
]]> 214208326 Horror meets coming-of-age in this thrilling novel in which forgotten Cold War mysteries make a terrifying reappearance, from a writer Stephen King has called “a master.��

On a clear October day, the American skies empty after hundreds of pilots refuse to fly, triggering a complete ground stop as authorities seek to explain an act of baffling coordination that the pilots insist was anything but planned. The pilots received disturbing, middle-of-the-night calls from their mothers, and each mother had a simple and urgent do not fly today.

There are a few concerning elements to the calls. None of the mothers remember making them—and some of the mothers are dead.

While the nation’s military chiefs and artificial intelligence experts mobilize in search of answers, a sixteen-year-old girl named Charlie on the coast of Maine watches a strange, silvery balloon drift across the water and toward her home—a place she loathes. Her father’s dream of opening a craft brewery on an old airfield has been a disaster, and all she wants is an escape back to Brooklyn.

She’s about to get much more than that.

Her new home is ground zero for a story that begins at a remote naval base in Indiana during the winter of 1962, when a physicist named Martin Hazelton discovered something extraordinary—and deadly. All Hazelton wanted was time to seek an explanation, but pressure from both American and Russian actors forced him into a perilous race.

Moving between the two characters and timelines, Scott Carson deftly weaves Cold War espionage with contemporary terror in a story that explains why #1 New York Times bestseller Joe Hill has declared himself “a fan for life.”]]> 0 Scott Carson 1982191503 Jayme 0 4.21 2025
author: Scott Carson
name: Jayme
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/03/01
shelves: to-read, widget-received, maybe
review:

]]> 222376487 Is it time to renew love or start a new chapter?

Ingrid Dahl, a cheerful twenty-nine-year-old librarian in the cozy mountain town of Ridgetop, North Carolina, has been happily dating her college boyfriend, Cory, for eleven years without ever discussing marriage. But when Ingrid’s sister announces her engagement to a woman she’s only been dating for two years, Ingrid and Cory feel pressured to consider their future. Neither has ever been with anybody else, so they make an unconventional decision. They'll take a one-month break to date other people, then they'll reunite and move toward marriage. Ingrid even has someone in mind: her charmingly grumpy coworker, Macon Nowakowski, on whom she’s secretly crushed for years. But plans go awry, and when the month ends, Ingrid and Cory realize they’re not ready to resume their relationship�� and Ingrid’s harmless crush on Macon has turned into something much more complicated.

Overdue is a beautiful, slow-burn romance full of lust and longing about new beginnings and finding your way.]]> 416 Stephanie Perkins 1250313465 Jayme 0 3.87 2025
author: Stephanie Perkins
name: Jayme
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/27
shelves: to-read, widget-received, maybe
review:

]]> 222361681 Beloved author Kasie West's sparkling adult rom-com debut about a hopeless romantic falling for the one man she never expected

Can a swipe right turn into swept away?

Margot Hart is a hopeless romantic. That’s why she wants to be a literary agent—to help bring romance books to the world. It’s also why she hates dating apps with all her romance loving soul. She wants her own love story to be just as much fun as the books she reads—a mixed up coffee order, a mistaken identity. She’s not going to tell the story that she swiped right on future husband’s shirtless pic for the rest of her life.

The problem is that her most consistent relationship over the last several years is with Oliver, a guy she keeps rematching with on the apps. They’ve only been on one date and it was a disaster…well, until the make out session in the car before parting ways. But, she keeps reminding herself, a make out session does not a relationship make. And so there will not be a date two regardless of how witty their app banter is.

When Margot gets fired from her job on the same day she meets Oliver again, her life becomes a veritable shit show. Her dream career is dying right before her eyes, and Oliver thinks she’s interested in only one a repeat of the hot make out session they had three years ago so she can get him out of her system. And maybe that is all she wants from him, because she and Oliver are definitely not compatible—he ��DZ����’t hit the snooze button, he runs five miles every morning, he reads nonfiction, and worst of all, she didn’t meet him in cute way! But in her scramble to keep her dream career alive, by opening her own agency, Oliver is there with his golden retriever energy, more steady and helpful than any man she’s ever dated. Just when she thinks she’s overcome her app bias, she realizes that maybe it’s not her who’s holding back, but him. And his reasons are more than she bargained for.

Kasie West's romantic adult debut is full of witty banter, meet cutes gone awry and, ultimately, true love.]]> Kasie West 125034915X Jayme 0 4.16 2025
author: Kasie West
name: Jayme
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/27
shelves: to-read, maybe, widget-received
review:

]]> 213009552
From the author of Reese’s Book Club Pick and New York Times bestseller Wrong Place Wrong Time comes an addictive thriller about a new mother’s world upended when her husband commits a terrifying crime. How well does she truly know the man she loves? And what danger does she face if her entire life has been built on a lie?

It is June 21st, the longest day of the year, and new mother Camilla’s life is about to change forever. After months of maternity leave, she will drop her infant daughter off at daycare for the first time and return to her job as a literary agent. Finally. But, when she wakes, her husband Luke isn’t there, and in his place is a cryptic note.

Then it starts. Breaking news: there's a hostage situation developing in London. The police arrive, and tell her Luke is involved. But he isn't a hostage. Her husband—doting father, eternal optimist—is the gunman.

What she does next is crucial. Because only she knows what the note he left behind that morning says...

Famous Last Words is the story of a crime, a marriage, and more secrets than Camilla ever could have imagined. This novel cements Gillian McAllister’s reputation as “the best at putting her characters in impossible situations and making her readers not only contemplate but feel what it would be like to find themselves in those situations.�� (Emily Henry)]]> 425 Gillian McAllister 0063338440 Jayme 4
Camilla (Cam) is dropping her infant daughter Polly off at daycare for the first time and returning to her job as a literary agent after months away for maternity leave. So, it seems particularly out of character for her husband Luke to not be there that morning to see them off.

In his place is a cryptic note. One side reads “If anything�� but it’s been crossed out. The other side says “It’s been so lovely with you both. Lx.��

She sends him a message. No reply.

She sends another. Silence.

Cam has a pit in her stomach-a feeling of dread.

And, then everything happens at once as the Police are outside her office as BREAKING NEWS comes across the television screens. A hostage situation is developing in London and the Police have arrived to tell her Luke is involved—not as a hostage-but as the gunman.

And, the hostage negotiator, Niall, wants her at the scene.

This story unfolds in three parts. The pace of Act One, “The Siege�� is LIGHTNING FAST and I felt every one of Cam’s emotions from shock to bewilderment as she tried to make sense of the situation.

The second part dragged just a tiny bit for me, as the narrative became very introspective as both Cam and Niall dealt with the fall out from the day that would change both of their lives forever.

And, in part three the pace picks up again as this very CLEVER story came together and we learn the TRUTH about what happened that day. Sure, some suspension of disbelief is necessary but the characters are so well drawn that this story feels plausible despite that.

This is definitely one of the better stories that I have read lately in the THRILLER/SUSPENSE category, and I have no hesitation in recommending it!

Now Available!

This was a buddy read with my friend Ceecee. Be sure to watch for her amazing review for additional insight!

Thank You to William Morrow for the gifted copy provided through NetGalley. As always, these are my candid thoughts.]]> 3.96 2025
author: Gillian McAllister
name: Jayme
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2024/10/27
date added: 2025/02/25
shelves: literary-fiction, mystery-suspense, netgalley, thriller-tbr
review:
4.5 stars

Camilla (Cam) is dropping her infant daughter Polly off at daycare for the first time and returning to her job as a literary agent after months away for maternity leave. So, it seems particularly out of character for her husband Luke to not be there that morning to see them off.

In his place is a cryptic note. One side reads “If anything�� but it’s been crossed out. The other side says “It’s been so lovely with you both. Lx.��

She sends him a message. No reply.

She sends another. Silence.

Cam has a pit in her stomach-a feeling of dread.

And, then everything happens at once as the Police are outside her office as BREAKING NEWS comes across the television screens. A hostage situation is developing in London and the Police have arrived to tell her Luke is involved—not as a hostage-but as the gunman.

And, the hostage negotiator, Niall, wants her at the scene.

This story unfolds in three parts. The pace of Act One, “The Siege�� is LIGHTNING FAST and I felt every one of Cam’s emotions from shock to bewilderment as she tried to make sense of the situation.

The second part dragged just a tiny bit for me, as the narrative became very introspective as both Cam and Niall dealt with the fall out from the day that would change both of their lives forever.

And, in part three the pace picks up again as this very CLEVER story came together and we learn the TRUTH about what happened that day. Sure, some suspension of disbelief is necessary but the characters are so well drawn that this story feels plausible despite that.

This is definitely one of the better stories that I have read lately in the THRILLER/SUSPENSE category, and I have no hesitation in recommending it!

Now Available!

This was a buddy read with my friend Ceecee. Be sure to watch for her amazing review for additional insight!

Thank You to William Morrow for the gifted copy provided through NetGalley. As always, these are my candid thoughts.
]]> 198563641 From the New York Times bestselling author of Evvie Drake Starts Over and Flying Solo, a podcast producer agrees to host a new series about modern dating—but will the show jeopardize her chance at finding real love?

Cecily Foster loves to make podcasts. She fiercely protects her colleagues, dearly adores her friends, and never misses dinner with her sister. But after a disastrous relationship with a colleague who stole her heart and her ideas, she’s put romantic love on hold.

When the boss who’s disappointed her again and again finally offers her the chance to host her own show, she wants to be thrilled. But there’s a catch—actually, two catches. First, the show will be about Cecily’s dating life. And second, she has to follow the guidance of influencer and newly minted relationship coach Eliza Cassidy, whose relentlessly upbeat attitude seems ready-made for social media, not real life.

Cecily would rather do anything other than put her singledom on display (ugh) or take advice from the internet (UGH). But when her boss hints that doing the show is the only way to protect a friend’s job, she realizes she has no choice.

To make matters more complicated, once she’s committed to twenty blind dates of Eliza’s choosing, Cecily finds herself unable to stop thinking about Will, a photographer she helped to rescue a very big and very lovable lost dog. Even though there are sparks between the two, Will’s own path is uncertain, and Eliza’s skeptical comments about Cecily’s decision-making aren’t helping. On the one hand, Will seems great. But on the other hand . . . don’t they all?

As Cecily struggles to balance the life she truly desires and the one Eliza wants to create for her, she finds herself at a crossroads. Can Cecily sort through all the advice and find a way to do what she loves without losing herself in the process?]]> 320 Linda Holmes 059359925X Jayme 4
New York Times bestselling author, Linda Holmes (Evvie Drake Starts Over and Flying Solo) is back with another story of a woman who needs a fresh start!

Longtime podcast producer Cecily Foster has always longed to host her own show, so she agrees to do a show her boss wants her to do when he promises to give her, and her friend and mentee, Julie-a chance to work on a project that SHE would like to do after this show wraps up.

The catch:

The show will be about Cecily going on twenty dates chosen by renowned dating coach/life coach/influencer Eliza Cassidy.

Of course, after FOUR years of being Single-she meets an intriguing guy named Will, just before the show is about to start!

He was chasing a runaway Great Dane named Buddy, who got loose on a busy street. She, who always carries a huge bag with everything you could ever need in an emergency, has just what he might need to corral the dog!
(See the adorable book cover!)

Even though sparks fly between the two, Eliza forbids Cecily from dating Will, whom she ��DZ����’t believe is ambitious enough for Cecily. She is positive that at least one of the twenty men she has lined up will be a more suitable match.

But, when the two keep bumping into each other, one has to wonder if it’s coincidence or Serendipity?

I love when a book can HOOK me with an opening line-but unfortunately, this one started with a couple of chapters that had me questioning if I even wanted to read the book. (Yawn) Thankfully, once we got past the technicalities of Audio and Office Politics, it picked up and captured my interest.

It’s the third book that I have read recently which had the female protagonist having to go on dates selected by other people, but my least favorite of the three. (Trendy new trope?) This one focuses more on the main characters growth rather than the dates themselves. In fact, all twenty first dates are summarized in Chapter 12!

Still, I was interested in seeing how Cecily would reconcile her growing attraction to Will with her obligation to the show!

The one thing I could have done without was learning about Buddy’s chews-“Bully Sticks��! ]]> 3.83 2025
author: Linda Holmes
name: Jayme
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/20
date added: 2025/02/25
shelves: buddy-read, contemporary-fiction, netgalley, publisher-s-invitation, romance, widget-received
review:
3.75 rounded ⬆️

New York Times bestselling author, Linda Holmes (Evvie Drake Starts Over and Flying Solo) is back with another story of a woman who needs a fresh start!

Longtime podcast producer Cecily Foster has always longed to host her own show, so she agrees to do a show her boss wants her to do when he promises to give her, and her friend and mentee, Julie-a chance to work on a project that SHE would like to do after this show wraps up.

The catch:

The show will be about Cecily going on twenty dates chosen by renowned dating coach/life coach/influencer Eliza Cassidy.

Of course, after FOUR years of being Single-she meets an intriguing guy named Will, just before the show is about to start!

He was chasing a runaway Great Dane named Buddy, who got loose on a busy street. She, who always carries a huge bag with everything you could ever need in an emergency, has just what he might need to corral the dog!
(See the adorable book cover!)

Even though sparks fly between the two, Eliza forbids Cecily from dating Will, whom she ��DZ����’t believe is ambitious enough for Cecily. She is positive that at least one of the twenty men she has lined up will be a more suitable match.

But, when the two keep bumping into each other, one has to wonder if it’s coincidence or Serendipity?

I love when a book can HOOK me with an opening line-but unfortunately, this one started with a couple of chapters that had me questioning if I even wanted to read the book. (Yawn) Thankfully, once we got past the technicalities of Audio and Office Politics, it picked up and captured my interest.

It’s the third book that I have read recently which had the female protagonist having to go on dates selected by other people, but my least favorite of the three. (Trendy new trope?) This one focuses more on the main characters growth rather than the dates themselves. In fact, all twenty first dates are summarized in Chapter 12!

Still, I was interested in seeing how Cecily would reconcile her growing attraction to Will with her obligation to the show!

The one thing I could have done without was learning about Buddy’s chews-“Bully Sticks��!
]]> 216437528 The award-winning, Sunday Times Top Five bestseller returns with a brand new thriller featuring the unforgettable Eddie Flynn.

Praise for Steve

'Steve Cavanagh's twists hit you between the eyes. You never see them coming' ANTHONY HOROWITZ
'This guy is the real deal. Trust me' LEE CHILD
'Steve Cavanagh writes the best hooks in the business' MICK HERRON
'Unputdownable' ALEX MICHAELIDES
'An absolute page turner' SHARI LAPENA
'Will keep you guessing until the very end' IAN RANKIN
'The ultimate treat for crime fiction fans' JANICE HALLETT
'Books this ingenious don't come along very often' MICHAEL CONNELLY
'A fantastic thriller writer' MARK BILLINGHAM
'An absolute humdinger of a thriller - fiendishly clever and totally compelling' TM LOGAN
'Gripping' THE SUN
'If you read the first eight pages you'll be hooked' THE TIMES
'The real magic is in Steve Cavanagh's hypnotic storytelling power' SUNDAY EXPRESS
'Cavanagh is a genius... page-turning stuff' EVENING STANDARD
'A masterclass in misdirection' THE GUARDIAN ]]> Steve Cavanagh 1035408279 Jayme 0 to-read 5.00 2025
author: Steve Cavanagh
name: Jayme
average rating: 5.00
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/22
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 221739588 Don’t miss the brand-new gripping thriller and courtroom drama full of twists and turns that will keep you up at night!‘One of my ten best reads of the year. Easy five stars�� Lisa Jewell

‘Terrific and hugely thought-provoking�� Ian Rankin

‘Intelligent, clever, poignant, sharp, and thought-provoking�� Andrea Mara

‘Rich in drama and intrigue. Kept me turning the pages long into the night. Bloody superb�� Graham Bartlett, author of Bad For Good

* * * *

Lily and Safa were best friends growing up. Now, Lily is the nation’s favourite breakfast TV presenter and Safa, once a renowned journalist, is reeling from a recent fall from grace.

When news breaks about suspicious bruises on Lily’s body, Safa attempts to rekindle their old friendship. But Lily claims the bruises are nothing to worry about.

And then one night the police are called to Lily’s home. Lily is strangely calm �� and a body lies dead at her feet.

Lily pleads not guilty, and then says nothing more. Driven by her desire to give a voice to all victims, Safa begins her own investigation into what happened that night.

But Safa is not prepared for what her quest for justice will uncover ��

* * * *

Praise for Kia Abdullah

'Abdullah draws out the truth with compassion, charting with notable understanding the ever-changing currents in human relations�� The Times

‘Timely and powerful, Abdullah’s fourth novel lets no one off the hook�� Guardian

‘G������辱�Բ��� Woman’s Weekly ]]> Kia Abdullah 0008570043 Jayme 0 to-read 4.45
author: Kia Abdullah
name: Jayme
average rating: 4.45
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/20
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 32956365 He was the first person to inspire her, to move her, to truly understand her. Was he meant to be the last?

Lucy is faced with a life-altering choice. But before she can make her decision, she must start her story—their story—at the very beginning.

Lucy and Gabe meet as seniors at Columbia University on a day that changes both of their lives forever. Together, they decide they want their lives to mean something, to matter. When they meet again a year later, it seems fated—perhaps they’ll find life’s meaning in each other. But then Gabe becomes a photojournalist assigned to the Middle East and Lucy pursues a career in New York. What follows is a thirteen-year journey of dreams, desires, jealousies, betrayals, and, ultimately, of love. Was it fate that brought them together? Is it choice that has kept them away? Their journey takes Lucy and Gabe continents apart, but never out of each other’s hearts.]]> 328 Jill Santopolo 0735212759 Jayme 5
Lucy and Gabe met as seniors at Columbia University on a day that changes both of their lives forever-September 11, 2001. As they watch fellow New Yorkers diving from the crumbling wreckage of the Twin Towers, they decide they want their lives to mean something- TO MATTER.

Gabe becomes a photojournalist assigned to the Middle East, covering conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza-choosing this calling over his intense love for Lucy.

Lucy pursues a career in New York, and struggles to open her heart fully to a “different�� kind of love.

DO YOUR DECISIONS ALTER YOUR FATE?
OR DOES FATE ALTER YOUR DECISIONS?

Lucy will have to make a life altering decision by the story’s end but to do so she will need to relive their love story from the beginning. She shares her story in a way that sounds like a kind of “open love letter”]]> 3.80 2017
author: Jill Santopolo
name: Jayme
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2017
rating: 5
read at: 2024/09/14
date added: 2025/02/19
shelves: my-4-and-5-star-books, audible, contemporary-fiction, part-of-a-series, romance, women-s-fiction
review:
How apropos that I would begin my second read/listen of this book in anticipation of the sequel “The Love We Found�� (publishing April 2025) on September 11, 2024.

Lucy and Gabe met as seniors at Columbia University on a day that changes both of their lives forever-September 11, 2001. As they watch fellow New Yorkers diving from the crumbling wreckage of the Twin Towers, they decide they want their lives to mean something- TO MATTER.

Gabe becomes a photojournalist assigned to the Middle East, covering conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza-choosing this calling over his intense love for Lucy.

Lucy pursues a career in New York, and struggles to open her heart fully to a “different�� kind of love.

DO YOUR DECISIONS ALTER YOUR FATE?
OR DOES FATE ALTER YOUR DECISIONS?

Lucy will have to make a life altering decision by the story’s end but to do so she will need to relive their love story from the beginning. She shares her story in a way that sounds like a kind of “open love letter��
]]> 18007535
Now, in present day, nineteen-year-old Ruthie lives in Sara's farmhouse with her mother, Alice, and her younger sister. Alice has always insisted that they live off the grid, a decision that has weighty consequences when Ruthie wakes up one morning to find that Alice has vanished. In her search for clues, she is startled to find a copy of Sara Harrison Shea's diary hidden beneath the floorboards of her mother's bedroom. As Ruthie gets sucked into the historical mystery, she discovers that she's not the only person looking for someone that they've lost. But she may be the only one who can stop history from repeating itself.]]> 317 Jennifer McMahon 0385538499 Jayme 0 to-read 3.80 2014
author: Jennifer McMahon
name: Jayme
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/19
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 214342808 It’s 1962, the dawn of the jet-set era. Hope takes flight for two Pan Am stewardesses navigating an adventurous new life in a novel about love, friendship, and escape by the bestselling author of The Memory of Us and Until We Meet.

Welcome to a glamorous gateway to the jet age.

Judy Goodman and Beverly Caldwell have different reasons for putting continents and oceans between themselves and their disparate pasts, but they have the same desire—to earn a coveted position on an elite team of stewardesses for Pan American Airlines. For Judy, running away from an oppressive marriage in small-town Pennsylvania is a risk she must take. And for Beverly, leaving behind the gilded cage of New York society will allow her to pursue a future of her own making.

Embracing the culture, etiquette, and strict rules of a thrilling and unpredictable new world above the clouds, Judy and Beverly are bound for faraway destinations and opportunities that other women dare only to dream about. But as they build a deep friendship, encounter love and danger, and discover what’s truly important, Judy and Beverly must also confront the secrets that could change their lives all over again—and forever.]]> Camille Di Maio 1662523939 Jayme 5
In 1962, the Jet Set era, only Fashion Models and Movie Stars garnered more notoriety than a Pan Am stewardess.

Only 1 in 50 applicants would be offered the opportunity to attend training, and 30% of those young women would not last until graduation.

Those chosen could not wear contact lenses or glasses, and must be willing to cut their hair to the approved hairstyle and wear Revlon Persian Melon lipstick and a light coating of blue eyeshadow to match the coveted signature royal blue uniform with the pill box hats. Weight checks would also be conducted throughout training and the 6 month probationary period.

Since you couldn’t be married, over be over age of 35, (until that changed in the early 1970’s) the average career span was 18 months-but it was a glamorous lifestyle that many envied but few could obtain.

“Come Fly With Me�� is a story named after the Frank Sinatra classic, based on the history of this ICONIC airline, which follows the story of TWO hopeful young women as they navigate the rigorous training and first year of flying-BUT it is also about their ENDURING friendship.

Judy Goodman was running away from an abusive marriage in a small town, so she will have to lie about being “SINGLE�� when she applies for the position.

Beverly Caldwell grew up in New York society and was expected to marry a suitor from another respectable family rather than pursue a future of her own making.

The story unfolds from their alternating POV’s in the PAST, and from an unnamed narrator in the PRESENT from Mo’orea, French Polynesia.

As a career flight attendant myself, this story brought back fond memories, and some “not so fond�� such as my days in training. (She only touched on the emergency drills you go through!) When I was hired by another major airline in the 80’s, we still had to weigh in, and be willing to cut our hair and don the preferred RED lipstick ]]> 4.42 2025
author: Camille Di Maio
name: Jayme
average rating: 4.42
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/09
date added: 2025/02/18
shelves: women-s-fiction, netgalley, historical-fiction
review:
Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance

In 1962, the Jet Set era, only Fashion Models and Movie Stars garnered more notoriety than a Pan Am stewardess.

Only 1 in 50 applicants would be offered the opportunity to attend training, and 30% of those young women would not last until graduation.

Those chosen could not wear contact lenses or glasses, and must be willing to cut their hair to the approved hairstyle and wear Revlon Persian Melon lipstick and a light coating of blue eyeshadow to match the coveted signature royal blue uniform with the pill box hats. Weight checks would also be conducted throughout training and the 6 month probationary period.

Since you couldn’t be married, over be over age of 35, (until that changed in the early 1970’s) the average career span was 18 months-but it was a glamorous lifestyle that many envied but few could obtain.

“Come Fly With Me�� is a story named after the Frank Sinatra classic, based on the history of this ICONIC airline, which follows the story of TWO hopeful young women as they navigate the rigorous training and first year of flying-BUT it is also about their ENDURING friendship.

Judy Goodman was running away from an abusive marriage in a small town, so she will have to lie about being “SINGLE�� when she applies for the position.

Beverly Caldwell grew up in New York society and was expected to marry a suitor from another respectable family rather than pursue a future of her own making.

The story unfolds from their alternating POV’s in the PAST, and from an unnamed narrator in the PRESENT from Mo’orea, French Polynesia.

As a career flight attendant myself, this story brought back fond memories, and some “not so fond�� such as my days in training. (She only touched on the emergency drills you go through!) When I was hired by another major airline in the 80’s, we still had to weigh in, and be willing to cut our hair and don the preferred RED lipstick
]]> 216522745 Four strangers are brought together to participate in an experimental treatment designed to heal broken hearts in this surprising and heartfelt debut novel from author Amelia Ireland.

In a perfectly ordinary building, four strangers who couldn't be more different meet for the first time. Their skepticism of this new kind of grief therapy—and the unnervingly perceptive group leader—means they're all wary, but as the weeks go by, they find themselves returning again and again, pulled to work toward healing, even if it means first facing the pain head-on.

A sharp-tongued lawyer who has no intention of letting down her walls, a fragile young woman looking for a place to belong, a musician at the top of his game who's one drink away from losing it all, and an interior designer facing the crumbling of her picture-perfect life—this unlikely group slowly opens up, not only to the possibility of a happier future but to friendship, change, and even romance.

When a shocking revelation reveals the real reason they were chosen for this group, it shakes the very foundation of what they thought they knew. What began as a journey designed to heal turns out to be a much greater test of friendship, strength, and love as they realize happiness is just outside the door...if they're brave enough to seek it.]]> 368 Amelia Ireland 0593952634 Jayme 4
These are the five most recognizable stages of GRIEF, but not everyone shares the same journey toward healing and sometimes a person can get stuck in one of the stages.

Genevieve Dempsey is a therapist who is leading a “first of its kind�� experimental treatment designed to heal the broken hearts of those who find themselves in this predicament.

To participate the subjects have to agree to attend at least 4 sessions on 4 consecutive Wednesday nights at 7 O’Clock PM.

Four strangers with seemingly “nothing in common�� -Freya-Mischa-Callum and Victoria will be her first patients. The story unfolds from their alternating POV’s as they move through the process in their weekly sessions and become more than just confidants.

But, Genevieve may have to flexible if she hopes to deem this experience a success��.because these four were NOT selected at random.

I have been seeking out unique stories, having grown tired of the endless “locked room�� mysteries that dominated last year’s thriller market, and this one definitely DID fit the bill, with short chapters moving the story along at a quick pace.

Because I wasn’t shocked by the reveal, this didn’t score as high for me as it has for some other reviewers- but it is definitely a DEBUT that I was pleased to discover, and it made for a fun buddy read with Master Detective MarilynW! ]]> 4.13 2025
author: Amelia Ireland
name: Jayme
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/16
date added: 2025/02/16
shelves: contemporary-fiction, netgalley, widget-received, publisher-s-invitation
review:
DENIAL-ANGER-BARGAINING-DEPRESSION -ACCEPTANCE

These are the five most recognizable stages of GRIEF, but not everyone shares the same journey toward healing and sometimes a person can get stuck in one of the stages.

Genevieve Dempsey is a therapist who is leading a “first of its kind�� experimental treatment designed to heal the broken hearts of those who find themselves in this predicament.

To participate the subjects have to agree to attend at least 4 sessions on 4 consecutive Wednesday nights at 7 O’Clock PM.

Four strangers with seemingly “nothing in common�� -Freya-Mischa-Callum and Victoria will be her first patients. The story unfolds from their alternating POV’s as they move through the process in their weekly sessions and become more than just confidants.

But, Genevieve may have to flexible if she hopes to deem this experience a success��.because these four were NOT selected at random.

I have been seeking out unique stories, having grown tired of the endless “locked room�� mysteries that dominated last year’s thriller market, and this one definitely DID fit the bill, with short chapters moving the story along at a quick pace.

Because I wasn’t shocked by the reveal, this didn’t score as high for me as it has for some other reviewers- but it is definitely a DEBUT that I was pleased to discover, and it made for a fun buddy read with Master Detective MarilynW!
]]> 213243908 A hopeless romantic meets a jaded radio host in this cozy, Sleepless in Seattle-inspired love story from beloved author B.K. Borison.

Aiden Valentine has a secret: he's fallen out of love with love. And as the host of Baltimore's romance hotline, that's a bit of a problem. But when a young girl calls in to the station asking for dating advice for her mom, the interview goes viral, thrusting Aiden and Heartstrings into the limelight.

Lucie Stone thought she was doing just fine. She has a good job; an incredible family; and a smart, slightly devious kid. But when all of Baltimore is suddenly scrutinizing her love life-or lack thereof—she begins to question if she's as happy as she thought. Maybe a little more romance wouldn't be such a bad thing.

Everyone wants Lucie to find her happy ending... even the handsome, temperamental man calling the shots. But when sparks start to fly behind the scenes, Lucie must make the final call between the radio-sponsored happily ever after or the man in the headphones next to her.]]> 448 B.K. Borison 0593641191 Jayme 5
I’m a bit superstitious about my first read of the year-(hoping to start the year out strong) so I went with this “Sleepless in Seattle�� inspired love story- the first in B.K. Borison’s newest series-(Heartstrings, #1) and it proved to be a wise choice! ❤️

Aiden Valentine is the host of Baltimore's late night romance hotline, “Heartstrings�� but he is not sure if he still believes in love. It seems to bring more heartache than joy-if you were to judge love by the majority of the calls he takes.

But then 12 year old, Maya calls in asking for dating advice for her mom. When Lucie Stone hears her daughter on the phone when she is supposed to be asleep, she enters the bedroom interrupting the call-and her conversation with Aiden goes viral.

Lucie considers herself happy!

She has a fulfilling job as an auto mechanic, and a great relationship with Maya and both of her daughter’s TWO Dads-who live right next door and are helping to raise her. Maya’s father, Grayson would end up being the platonic love of Lucie’s life-but the romantic love of Grayson’s life would end up being Mateo. Fortunately, all three are mature people doing right by Maya, and each other and the three are now the BEST of friends.

But with all of Baltimore now scrutinizing her love life-or lack thereof—Lucie begins to wonder if Maya is right, so when the radio station invites her to co-host “Heartstrings�� and look for love over the air waves-she steps out of her comfort zone to give it a try.

ALL of Baltimore begins to fall in love with Lucie, rooting for her to find love-but Aiden starts to realize that he ISN'T rooting for her along with the rest of the city-as he as fallen for her right along with all of their listeners.

But, will he find the courage to tell her so—before it’s too late? ��

The book- dedicated by the author to “hopeless romantics and the reluctant ones too��- unfolds from the alternating POV’s of both Lucie and Aiden-with snippets of their radio show interspersed throughout.

This unique, captivating story stole my heart IMMEDIATELY!

The characters are likable and the witty banter develops the red hot chemistry between Lucie and Aiden long before their physical relationship begins. It was definitely a book that I couldn’t wait to get back to-whenever I could-and a series that I actually look forward to continuing! (Hurry please!)

Because of personal preference, I wavered between a 4 and 5 star rating. I prefer a more “closed door�� ]]> 4.10 2025
author: B.K. Borison
name: Jayme
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2025/01/04
date added: 2025/02/11
shelves: romance, contemporary-fiction, netgalley, publisher-s-invitation, rom_com, widget-received
review:
4.5 ⭐️

I’m a bit superstitious about my first read of the year-(hoping to start the year out strong) so I went with this “Sleepless in Seattle�� inspired love story- the first in B.K. Borison’s newest series-(Heartstrings, #1) and it proved to be a wise choice! ❤️

Aiden Valentine is the host of Baltimore's late night romance hotline, “Heartstrings�� but he is not sure if he still believes in love. It seems to bring more heartache than joy-if you were to judge love by the majority of the calls he takes.

But then 12 year old, Maya calls in asking for dating advice for her mom. When Lucie Stone hears her daughter on the phone when she is supposed to be asleep, she enters the bedroom interrupting the call-and her conversation with Aiden goes viral.

Lucie considers herself happy!

She has a fulfilling job as an auto mechanic, and a great relationship with Maya and both of her daughter’s TWO Dads-who live right next door and are helping to raise her. Maya’s father, Grayson would end up being the platonic love of Lucie’s life-but the romantic love of Grayson’s life would end up being Mateo. Fortunately, all three are mature people doing right by Maya, and each other and the three are now the BEST of friends.

But with all of Baltimore now scrutinizing her love life-or lack thereof—Lucie begins to wonder if Maya is right, so when the radio station invites her to co-host “Heartstrings�� and look for love over the air waves-she steps out of her comfort zone to give it a try.

ALL of Baltimore begins to fall in love with Lucie, rooting for her to find love-but Aiden starts to realize that he ISN'T rooting for her along with the rest of the city-as he as fallen for her right along with all of their listeners.

But, will he find the courage to tell her so—before it’s too late? ��

The book- dedicated by the author to “hopeless romantics and the reluctant ones too��- unfolds from the alternating POV’s of both Lucie and Aiden-with snippets of their radio show interspersed throughout.

This unique, captivating story stole my heart IMMEDIATELY!

The characters are likable and the witty banter develops the red hot chemistry between Lucie and Aiden long before their physical relationship begins. It was definitely a book that I couldn’t wait to get back to-whenever I could-and a series that I actually look forward to continuing! (Hurry please!)

Because of personal preference, I wavered between a 4 and 5 star rating. I prefer a more “closed door��
]]> 215363273 The Evening Shades resonates with the comfort and beauty of Kent Haruf’s Our Souls at Night and the mystery and suspense of Dennis Lehane’s Mystic River.

One afternoon in the autumn of 1972, a lonely widow in Mt. Gilead, Illinois, offers to rent a room in her house to a socially awkward man, a stranger who has come to town. It is risky—she ��DZ����’t know anything about him, and she hadn’t thought to take in a renter. But Edith Green can no longer bear a life lived alone. Henry Dees, haunted by the past he carries with him from Tower Hill, Indiana, is plagued by a tremendous guilt about things he did and didn’t do that led to the death of a little girl back home. How can he face the rest of his life?

The Evening Shades is as moving and suspenseful as its predecesser, Pulitzer finalist The Bright Forever.

It is a story of love found in middle age and the joy it promises but not without serious complications. There is the bereaved family of the little girl, who are holding their own secrets about the mysterious disappearances of both the man who killed their daughter and Henry Dees.

The Evening Shades looks at one lonely woman’s last chance at love and one shy man’s attempt to rebuild his life in the aftermath of tragedy. It’s a poignant story of accommodation, resilience, forgiveness, and love in the face of all that threatens the splendor of our ordinary lives.]]> 320 Lee Martin 168589173X Jayme 4 /review/show...

Both books evoke a nostalgia to years past, and each features two lonely people who find companionship later in life when they didn’t think it would be possible to do so again. What makes this book different is that it adds a bit of mystery as to what exactly happened in Tower Hill, Indiana, that would make Henry Dees flee his life in the middle of the night, September 1972.

TW: CHILD MURDER

His inaction may have cost a young girl her life, and he can no longer live with the guilt about what he DID and DID NOT do the night she was killed.

When Henry stops in the tiny town of Mt. Gilead, Illinois, for gas, he wasn’t planning to stay long. His powder blue ��65 Mercury Comet catches the eye of the woman filling up her Lincoln Continental at the adjacent pump at Hutch’s Sunoco-a lonely Spinster named Edith Green.

And when the wind picks up, catching Edith’s head scarf, it flutters past the stranger who manages to catch it just in time. As he returns it to her, and introductions are made, he mentions that he might like to stay in town for a bit.

Edith impulsively offers to rent him a room in her house. It is risky—and tongues will wag-but Edith Green can no longer bear a life lived alone.

And, this chance encounter and gust of wind, will end up changing both of their lives.

This quiet story unfolds from several POV’s in both towns, past and present until the two worlds collide. The story is both a search for the truth and a search for forgiveness and a path forward.

I didn’t know that little Katie was murdered when I selected this story, and although Henry is not her killer, he did hold some feelings toward her that weren’t quite right. I think this prevented me from having the same emotional connection to this book that I had for the book it was compared to.

But, I was drawn in by the pensive writing and its melancholy feel, and I am looking forward to reading the author’s earlier work-Pulitzer finalist “The Bright Forever��, which I didn’t realize is actually the book that started this story.

Expected publication date: on March 25, 2025.

Thank You to Melville House for the gifted ARC provided through NetGalley. As always, these are my candid thoughts.]]> 4.06 2025
author: Lee Martin
name: Jayme
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/08
date added: 2025/02/11
shelves: contemporary-fiction, literary-fiction, netgalley
review:
As soon as I read that this book compared to Kent Haruf’s “Our Souls at Night��, I had to request a copy, as that book holds a special place in my heart. See my review: /review/show...

Both books evoke a nostalgia to years past, and each features two lonely people who find companionship later in life when they didn’t think it would be possible to do so again. What makes this book different is that it adds a bit of mystery as to what exactly happened in Tower Hill, Indiana, that would make Henry Dees flee his life in the middle of the night, September 1972.

TW: CHILD MURDER

His inaction may have cost a young girl her life, and he can no longer live with the guilt about what he DID and DID NOT do the night she was killed.

When Henry stops in the tiny town of Mt. Gilead, Illinois, for gas, he wasn’t planning to stay long. His powder blue ��65 Mercury Comet catches the eye of the woman filling up her Lincoln Continental at the adjacent pump at Hutch’s Sunoco-a lonely Spinster named Edith Green.

And when the wind picks up, catching Edith’s head scarf, it flutters past the stranger who manages to catch it just in time. As he returns it to her, and introductions are made, he mentions that he might like to stay in town for a bit.

Edith impulsively offers to rent him a room in her house. It is risky—and tongues will wag-but Edith Green can no longer bear a life lived alone.

And, this chance encounter and gust of wind, will end up changing both of their lives.

This quiet story unfolds from several POV’s in both towns, past and present until the two worlds collide. The story is both a search for the truth and a search for forgiveness and a path forward.

I didn’t know that little Katie was murdered when I selected this story, and although Henry is not her killer, he did hold some feelings toward her that weren’t quite right. I think this prevented me from having the same emotional connection to this book that I had for the book it was compared to.

But, I was drawn in by the pensive writing and its melancholy feel, and I am looking forward to reading the author’s earlier work-Pulitzer finalist “The Bright Forever��, which I didn’t realize is actually the book that started this story.

Expected publication date: on March 25, 2025.

Thank You to Melville House for the gifted ARC provided through NetGalley. As always, these are my candid thoughts.
]]> 219301810 A hitmaking songwriter and a bitter musician share a startling and inexplicable connection that they’ll do anything to shake, in the next sparkling, magical book from Ashley Poston.

Joni Lark is living the dream. She’s one of the most coveted songwriters in LA…and she can’t seem to write. There’s an emptiness inside her, and nothing seems to fill it.

When she returns to her hometown of Vienna Shores, North Carolina, she hopes that the sand, the surf, and the concerts at The Revelry, her family’s music venue, will spark her inspiration. But when she gets there, nothing is how she left it. Her best friend is avoiding her, her mother’s memories are fading fast, and The Revelry is closing.

How can she think about writing her next song when everything is changing without her?

Until she hears it. A melody in her head, lyric-less and half-formed, and an alluring and addictive voice to go with it—belonging, apparently, to a wry musician with hangups of his own.

Surely, he’s a figment of her overworked imagination.

But then the very real man attached to the voice shows up in Vienna Shores. He’s aggravating and gruff on the outside—nothing like the sweet, funny voice in Joni’s head—and he has a plan:

They’ll finish the song haunting them both, break their connection, and hope they don’t risk their hearts in the process.

Because that song stuck in their heads? Maybe it’s there for a reason.]]> Ashley Poston 0593641019 Jayme 0 to-read 4.27 2025
author: Ashley Poston
name: Jayme
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/10
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 112976344 By the New York Times bestselling author of Just Haven't Met You Yet, a downtrodden twenty-six-year-old wakes up to the life she's always wanted, but is it really a dream come true?

At twenty-six, Lucy Young is tired. Tired of fetching coffees for senior TV producers, tired of going on disastrous dates, and definitely tired of living in a damp flat share with flatmates who never buy toilet roll. She could quit her job for a better living, but she's not ready to give up on her dreams. Not just yet. After another diabolical date lands her in a sudden storm and no money for bus fare, Lucy finds herself seeking shelter in a tiny shop, where she stumbles upon a curious wishing machine. Pushing her last coin into the slot, Lucy closes her eyes and wishes with everything she's got: Please, let me skip to the good part of my life.

When she wakes the next morning to a handsome man, a ring on her finger, a high-powered job, and storybook perfect little boy and baby girl, Lucy can't believe this is real--especially when she looks in the mirror, and staring back is her own forty-something face. Has she really skipped ahead to the future she's always wanted, or has she simply forgotten a huge chunk of her life? And as Lucy begins to embrace this new life and new relationships, she'll have to ask herself: Can she go back, and if so, does she want to?]]> 368 Sophie Cousens 0593539893 Jayme 0 4.00 2023
author: Sophie Cousens
name: Jayme
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/08
shelves: to-read, backlist, romance, rom_com, library, audible
review:

]]> 223741585 I slip the device onto my wrist. It’s just a game, I tell myself, convinced it’s all cracked science anyway.

But is it?

Tony and I are still basking in that newlywed glow, caught in the thrill of our fresh, intoxicating love. Our days are filled with stolen kisses, playful teasing, and dreams so big they barely feel real. It’s perfect—almost too perfect.

Then Tony starts a new project with Quantum Matching Inc. He can’t stop talking about their groundbreaking technology, the Your Perfect Match band. One night, with a mischievous grin, he suggests we try them��"just for fun."

At first, it feels like a harmless endeavor. Why not indulge my husband? Our love story is magnificent enough to withstand a flimsy metal bracelet that claims to know our hearts better than we do.

But soon something shifts between us. Little things I can’t quite name. Like... A glance that lingers too long. A question he avoids answering. An ache I can’t quite shake.

Then, the unthinkable happens. The cracks in our perfect world widen, forcing me to confront questions I never thought I’d be forced to ask or answer. When love is tested, how much of myself am I willing to give away? And if I lose too much, how far will I go to win it all back?]]> 360 Z.L. Arkadie 1963546253 Jayme 0 4.00
author: Z.L. Arkadie
name: Jayme
average rating: 4.00
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/08
shelves: to-read, speculative-fiction, already-own
review:

]]> 220664598 For two exes who meet again, moving on is harder than ever in a funny and heartfelt romantic comedy about starting over by the author of Truth Be Told, now a major Apple TV+ series.

Vanessa is a yoga influencer living high in New York. But after her crypto-entrepreneur fiancé ruins both their lives by fleeing the country amid fraud allegations, Vanessa’s only choice is to start over—by flying home to Chicago and moving in with her sister.

Just as Vanessa puts her life back together, she bumps into Sam. Years ago, they fell hard and too fast. Their relationship ended in heartbreak after an impromptu Las Vegas wedding officiated by a Dolly Parton impersonator—and an annulment that was just as sudden. Now Sam is co-owner of a solar company with a promising future, a future Vanessa wants to be included in. But she can’t shake the whiff of scandal from her AWOL fiancé, and to protect Sam’s reputation, she’s keeping her distance. Then again��

If anyone can turn a negative into a positive—and a first love into a second chance—it’s a young woman with influence.]]> 303 Kathleen Barber 1662525745 Jayme 0 3.24
author: Kathleen Barber
name: Jayme
average rating: 3.24
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/08
shelves: to-read, contemporary-fiction, netgalley, romance
review:

]]> 213724356 A bookstore owner discovers that life as a recluse isn’t for everyone in this sharp yet sweet novel about how sometimes you need to abandon the quest for love to find your true passion.

Emma Rini is in a rut so deep she could shelve books there. While her sister awaits her first baby, and her parents kick off retirement with vow renewals and travel, Emma stays put among the stacks of the family bookshop.

In fact, she can’t remember the last time she took a vacation. Or had a romance that hovered above disappointing. When her parents assume she’ll take over the shop for them without a break, she realizes she needs to get away—back to the nineteenth century. Channeling her favorite poet recluse, Emily Dickinson, Emma rents a crumbling manor house outside Amherst where she can learn how to be quietly, blissfully alone.

But becoming a world-weary spinster isn’t easy. She can’t start a fire or reason with the bunnies that are destroying the garden. She finds herself sparring constantly with the grumpy-hot architect who is renovating the manor. And then there’s the secret admirer who keeps sending her complicated floral messages��

No matter what she does, the outside world keeps knocking, and Emma starts to dream about the future. Will she forgo love for the family legacy? And will she shrink away or become the sort of bold person fortune favors?]]> 317 Julie Hatcher 1662523459 Jayme 0 3.88 2025
author: Julie Hatcher
name: Jayme
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/07
shelves: to-read, already-own, amazon-first, cozy, romance
review:

]]> 220541116
Elle, a long-haul flight attendant, has the kind of day at work she’d rather forget, but she ��DZ����’t wait for everything to come crashing down; when life sends her champagne problems, she decides to become someone else entirely.

On her new path, she meets Jude, a handsome Californian, and she has to choose between the life she craves and the love she feels deep in her heart.

Her journey is shared with her two best friends and the true loves of her life, Lucy and Angus, as they navigate the obstacles and miscalculations of life.

Elle is the glue that holds the trio together as she stumbles and falters through life as an unlikely TikTok sensation called ‘La Fille Maladroit.��

'The Onionologist by M.J. Parfitt is a witty and engaging debut novel that follows Elle, a flight attendant whose life takes an unexpected turn after a particularly chaotic day at work.'—Readers' Favorite review excerpt.]]> 422 M.J. Parfitt 1763700100 Jayme 0 to-read, already-own 4.56
author: M.J. Parfitt
name: Jayme
average rating: 4.56
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/07
shelves: to-read, already-own
review:

]]> 201604756
From New York Times bestselling author Elle Cosimano, comes Veronica Ruiz Breaks the Bank—a hilarious short story diving into Finlay Donovan's partner-in-crime Vero's past.

Anyone can spot a window of opportunity, but not everyone can manage to fall straight through one.

Veronica Ruiz is on the run for the first time in her life—though certainly not the last. After being falsely accused of stealing money from her college sorority, she packs up and heads to her cousin Ramón's apartment, planning to change her name and rebuild start over away from backstabbing girls and university drama (and far, far away from her arrest warrant in Maryland).

At the local bank on the first morning of her new life, it occurs to Vero that she'd be a better bank teller than most of the current employees: she may not have much money, but what little she does have, she knows how to manage. Unfortunately, the only available position is a cleaning job and so, desperate for a fresh start, she takes the bank manager’s offer.

But nothing in Vero's world has ever been simple, so of course shortly after she begins work, she overhears a conversation between her new boss and a security guard: someone who works there has been stealing. Seeing a window of opportunity, Vero sets out to find the identity of the thief, present the evidence, and then push for the perfect job. All of which would be easier if her irresistibly infuriating childhood crush Javi wasn’t living in the same damn town.

Offering the insight that listeners have been craving into fan-favorite Vero's past and a closer look at the moment Finlay and Vero first meet, Veronica Ruiz Breaks the Bank is a can't-miss addition to the Finlay Donovan series.]]> Elle Cosimano 1250344069 Jayme 0 3.40 2023
author: Elle Cosimano
name: Jayme
average rating: 3.40
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/07
shelves: to-read, already-own, novella, part-of-a-series, short-story-or-stories
review:

]]> 222407453
Because Bea believes that what she does have is more important �� her job at St Helen’s Hospital, which offers a warm, dry shelter for her and Ellie to stay while she figures things out. By day Bea cleans the wards, by night she tucks her daughter into bed between mops and buckets.

And tries so hard to hold on to hope.

When Bea sees an old man sitting on a cold and lonely bench outside the hospital, she really ��DZ����’t have time to stop. She should be clearing up her own mess, not worrying about this cantankerous stranger. But Bea can’t help herself��

As she slowly starts to draw out Malcolm’s heartbreaking story, could this simple act of kindness begin to heal a decades-old pain? And might finding peace for Malcolm help Bea in ways she didn’t even know she needed?

A moving, emotional and uplifting story about second chances and chosen families guaranteed to break your heart and patch it back up again. The perfect book for fans of The Last List of Mabel Beaumont, A Man Called Ove and The Keeper of Stories.

Readers love Brooke Harris��

‘To say that my heart was broken would be an understatement. I felt like someone had ripped it out and stomped on it�� THE most moving, emotional, tender novel I think I have ever, ever read.�� The Writing Garnet, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

��My heart insisted on reading just one more chapter, and another, and another�� I even ate a banana in bed on the last night, as there was no way I was putting it down during the last few chapters�� I was crying so much, I could hardly see the words, and woke up the following morning with puffy eyes.�� Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐��

‘I couldn’t actually see due to the great big fat tears spilling from my eyes�� I didn’t want it to end. This is not a book to read out in public unless you don’t mind being a big snotty mess�� Amazing.�� Reader Review, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

��Wow! I am still in awe by what I have just read�� There are not enough stars to show just how much this book meant to me�� Top read of the year!�� Reader review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐��

��This book broke me apart, my heart felt as if it was being crushed by a giant sledgehammer�� Took my heart and squeezed it until all my emotions flowed down as tears�� I loved every single thing about this book.�� Shalini’s Book Reviews, ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

‘One of the most moving stories�� Tears literally streaming down my face�� An unputdownable, heartbreaking and inspirational read, one that deserves more than 5*.]]> 349 Brooke Harris 1805087479 Jayme 5 4.33
author: Brooke Harris
name: Jayme
average rating: 4.33
book published:
rating: 5
read at: 2025/01/15
date added: 2025/02/07
shelves: netgalley, publisher-s-invitation, widget-received, literary-fiction
review:
Your heart will break and be put back together by the end!
]]> 53138099 Finlay Donovan is Killing It.

Finlay Donovan is killing it . . . except, she’s really not. She’s a stressed-out single-mom of two and struggling novelist, Finlay’s life is in chaos: the new book she promised her literary agent isn’t written, her ex-husband fired the nanny without telling her, and this morning she had to send her four-year-old to school with hair duct-taped to her head after an incident with scissors.

When Finlay is overheard discussing the plot of her new suspense novel with her agent over lunch, she’s mistaken for a contract killer, and inadvertently accepts an offer to dispose of a problem husband in order to make ends meet . . . Soon, Finlay discovers that crime in real life is a lot more difficult than its fictional counterpart, as she becomes tangled in a real-life murder investigation.

Fast-paced, deliciously witty, and wholeheartedly authentic in depicting the frustrations and triumphs of motherhood in all its messiness, hilarity, and heartfelt moment, Finlay Donovan Is Killing It is the first in a brilliant new series from YA Edgar Award nominee Elle Cosimano.]]> 355 Elle Cosimano 1250241707 Jayme 4 netgalley, general-fiction
Ok, I am not REALLY banned, but I got your attention-as should this book!

Finlay Donovan is killing it, is the FIRST in a new comedy-mystery series, about a Single Mom and struggling Suspense Novelist, whose Fiction MAY or MAY NOT BE, inspired by events in her own life.

This one begins when a conversation is overheard in Panera Bread, by a woman at a nearby table, Patricia Mickler, who mistakes Finlay for an Assassin.

The conversation between a woman in a wig-scarf and her companion, who happens to be the woman’s book agent, Sylvia, is about the book plot for her very LATE, next novel.

But, it sounds like it COULD be about something else.

This eavesdropping lady just happens to have a husband she would like to get rid of, so she slides a note under Finlay’s plate as she bids goodbye to Sylvia, making her an offer she is tempted to consider because the novel isn’t the only thing that is late-all of her bills are overdue too!

$50,000
Harris Mickler

It couldn’t hurt to investigate a bit, could it?
In the name of RESEARCH for her book...

So, begins this comedy of errors for Finlay, and her unlikely accomplice-her former nanny Vero.

If you have been searching for something lighthearted to read, which isn’t a Rom-Com, (though a little bit of romance may be in the cards for Finlay too) look no further!

The idea for THIS novel was also born in a Panera Bread restaurant! ]]> 3.99 2021
author: Elle Cosimano
name: Jayme
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2020/11/17
date added: 2025/02/06
shelves: netgalley, general-fiction
review:
As soon as I heard that I wasn’t the only woman BANNED from Panera Bread, I knew I had to read this book!

Ok, I am not REALLY banned, but I got your attention-as should this book!

Finlay Donovan is killing it, is the FIRST in a new comedy-mystery series, about a Single Mom and struggling Suspense Novelist, whose Fiction MAY or MAY NOT BE, inspired by events in her own life.

This one begins when a conversation is overheard in Panera Bread, by a woman at a nearby table, Patricia Mickler, who mistakes Finlay for an Assassin.

The conversation between a woman in a wig-scarf and her companion, who happens to be the woman’s book agent, Sylvia, is about the book plot for her very LATE, next novel.

But, it sounds like it COULD be about something else.

This eavesdropping lady just happens to have a husband she would like to get rid of, so she slides a note under Finlay’s plate as she bids goodbye to Sylvia, making her an offer she is tempted to consider because the novel isn’t the only thing that is late-all of her bills are overdue too!

$50,000
Harris Mickler

It couldn’t hurt to investigate a bit, could it?
In the name of RESEARCH for her book...

So, begins this comedy of errors for Finlay, and her unlikely accomplice-her former nanny Vero.

If you have been searching for something lighthearted to read, which isn’t a Rom-Com, (though a little bit of romance may be in the cards for Finlay too) look no further!

The idea for THIS novel was also born in a Panera Bread restaurant!
]]> 223199392 Two good neighbors make the best of a bad Valentine’s Day in a funny and improbably romantic short story by the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Just for the Summer.

It’s Valentine’s Day weekend, and Charlotte and Seth are not looking for romance. Armed with emotional-support bear spray, Charlotte is in self-imposed isolation and on guard from men. Having a stalker can do that to a person’s nerves. Just across the hall and giving off woodsy vibes is Seth, a recently divorced arborist. As in today recently. Heights, he’s fine with. Trust? Not so much. But when disaster traps them one flight up and no way down, an outrageously precarious predicament forces a tree-loving guy and a rattled girl next door to embrace their captivity. Soon their defenses are breaking away. Considering how close they both are to the edge, Charlotte and Seth could be in danger of falling—in love.]]> 82 Abby Jimenez 1662529082 Jayme 4
Her new neighbor, Seth, who shares the breezeway with her, is marking this Valentine’s Day weekend as his first after an unexpected divorce just three years after what he thought would be a forever marriage.

So, neither is feeling very optimistic when they find themselves stranded together for the weekend when a renovation project accidentally demolishes the staircase that leads to their front doors instead of the staircase that was scheduled for demolition.

But, their FORCED PROXIMITY may just be a blessing in disguise!

Filled with Abby Jimenez’s trademark humor and witty banter, this 82 page novella was a much better Valentine’s Day treat than a box of chocolates! ]]> 4.13 2025
author: Abby Jimenez
name: Jayme
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/05
date added: 2025/02/06
shelves: amazon-original, novella, rom_com, short-story-or-stories
review:
Charlotte has just moved into a new apartment, AGAIN, trying outrun and outwit her STALKER.

Her new neighbor, Seth, who shares the breezeway with her, is marking this Valentine’s Day weekend as his first after an unexpected divorce just three years after what he thought would be a forever marriage.

So, neither is feeling very optimistic when they find themselves stranded together for the weekend when a renovation project accidentally demolishes the staircase that leads to their front doors instead of the staircase that was scheduled for demolition.

But, their FORCED PROXIMITY may just be a blessing in disguise!

Filled with Abby Jimenez’s trademark humor and witty banter, this 82 page novella was a much better Valentine’s Day treat than a box of chocolates!
]]> 223077907
As the case explodes across media outlets, a popular true crime podcast begins to dig deeper into Caroline’s life.

Soon, Caroline’s uncovered writing becomes the key to understanding her past—and potentially, the dark secrets she has yet to reveal. As her attorney scrambles to defend her, one question lingers: What happens when a killer rewrites their own story?

And when her trial approaches, whispers grow about a manuscript she’s writing from prison—one that might reveal far more than anyone expected��.��.��.

A Guilty Woman is perfect for fans of true crime, thrillers, and dark literary mysteries.]]> 244 Charlotte Barnes Jayme 0 3.95 2025
author: Charlotte Barnes
name: Jayme
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/04
shelves: to-read, already-own, psychological-thriller
review:

]]> 216390097 You thought she was safe. You were wrong . . .

Lauren can't wait to see her daughter again, to pick her up from university at the end of her first term. But when she arrives at her hall and knocks at room 309, a stranger opens the door.

For a few minutes, Lauren assumes she must have the wrong room, or the wrong floor. Maybe even the wrong building.

But she soon discovers the Evie's not there. She hasn't been there for weeks. So where is she?

Following one family's desperate race against time as one terrifying moment unravels into a living nightmare, The Daughter is the unmissable new heart-in-mouth thriller from T.M. Logan.]]> 443 T.M. Logan 1804185167 Jayme 0 to-read 4.32 2025
author: T.M. Logan
name: Jayme
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/02/03
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 211003837 For readers of Ann Patchett and Celeste Ng, Penitence is a poignant exploration of love and forgiveness. It’s a suspenseful, addictive page-turner filled with literary insight that compels readers to consider whether each of us is more than the worst thing we’ve ever done.

When a shocking murder occurs in the home of Angie and David Sheehan, their lives are shattered. Desperate to defend their family, they turn to small-town lawyer Martine Dumont for help, but Martine isn’t just legal counsel—she’s also the mother of Angie’s first love, Julian, a now-successful New York City criminal defense attorney. As Julian and Angie confront their shared past and long-buried guilt from a tragic accident years ago, they must navigate their own culpability and the unresolved feelings between them.

Spanning decades, from the ski slopes of rural Colorado to the streets of post-9/11 New York City and back again, Kristin Koval’s debut novel Penitence is an examination of the complexities of familial loyalty, the journey of redemption, and the profound experience of true forgiveness.]]> 320 Kristin Koval 1250342996 Jayme 4
This is a contemplative character driven novel that explores broken relationships, broken trust, and broken promises-and broken systems, broken bodies and broken hearts.

BUT-it’s also about finding the way to forgive and move forward.

When Angie and David Sheehan’s 13 year old daughter Nora, shoots and kills their 14 year old son, Nico, they must find a way to forgive her-and help her mount a defense.

The parents turn to their small town’s lawyer, Martine Dumont-but she also happens to be the mother of Angie’s first love, Julian-a man she shares a complicated history with because of more than just their breakup.

Martine isn’t qualified for a case of this magnitude, and the Sheehan’s are strapped for money because of the mounting medical bills they have incurred for Nico’s fight with Huntington’s disease, so Martine enlists the only lawyer who might be willing to help-Julian-who is now a successful New York City criminal defense attorney.

Everyone must confront something left unresolved as the PAST and PRESENT collide.

This was reminiscent of early Jodie Picoult to me-WHY would Nora do such a thing to a brother she loved and had a wonderful relationship with?

There are many thought provoking themes to think about, or discuss with a book club or friends. Fortunately, I could do so with Mary Beth, MarilynW and DeAnn.

But, it is a SLOW BURN ]]> 3.71 2025
author: Kristin Koval
name: Jayme
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/02/02
date added: 2025/02/03
shelves: contemporary-fiction, literary-fiction, mystery-suspense, crime, audible, legal-drama, library, debut
review:
BROKEN

This is a contemplative character driven novel that explores broken relationships, broken trust, and broken promises-and broken systems, broken bodies and broken hearts.

BUT-it’s also about finding the way to forgive and move forward.

When Angie and David Sheehan’s 13 year old daughter Nora, shoots and kills their 14 year old son, Nico, they must find a way to forgive her-and help her mount a defense.

The parents turn to their small town’s lawyer, Martine Dumont-but she also happens to be the mother of Angie’s first love, Julian-a man she shares a complicated history with because of more than just their breakup.

Martine isn’t qualified for a case of this magnitude, and the Sheehan’s are strapped for money because of the mounting medical bills they have incurred for Nico’s fight with Huntington’s disease, so Martine enlists the only lawyer who might be willing to help-Julian-who is now a successful New York City criminal defense attorney.

Everyone must confront something left unresolved as the PAST and PRESENT collide.

This was reminiscent of early Jodie Picoult to me-WHY would Nora do such a thing to a brother she loved and had a wonderful relationship with?

There are many thought provoking themes to think about, or discuss with a book club or friends. Fortunately, I could do so with Mary Beth, MarilynW and DeAnn.

But, it is a SLOW BURN
]]> 213244534 New York Times bestselling author, whose books so many love, brings us a fresh, contemporary story of a woman and her unruly blended family.


Lila Kennedy has a lot on her plate. A broken marriage, two wayward daughters, a house that is falling apart, and an elderly stepfather who seems to have quietly moved in. Her career is in freefall and her love life is . . . complicated. So when her real dad—a man she has barely seen since he ran off to Hollywood thirty-five years ago—suddenly appears on her doorstep, it feels like the final straw. But it turns out even the family you thought you could never forgive might have something to teach you: about love, and what it actually means to be family.]]> 460 Jojo Moyes 1984879332 Jayme 0 4.20 2025
author: Jojo Moyes
name: Jayme
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/31
shelves: to-read, contemporary-fiction, romance, library
review:

]]> 220160814 Three women are connected by one man in this kaleidoscopic thriller.

Restauranteur Paddy Swann was the life of the party until the day a man pushed him in the path of an oncoming train, leaving his twenty-something daughter Ash and wife Nina devastated. Shortly after Paddy’s funeral, the two women receive a surprise in the mail: a note and package from Nick Ratcliffe, an old friend of Paddy’s, and a nondescript lighter that once belonged to him decades ago. This unexpected gift draws Nick and Nina closer together—much to Ash’s dismay.

Martha is a small-town florist with dreams of expansion. She lives with her second husband Al, her baby, and two sons from her prior marriage. But they never seem to have any money, and with his constant traveling for work, she feels like a single parent—especially when an emergency makes her realize something needs to change.

But Nick and Al may not be who they say they are, leading these three women on a shocking collision course, wishing they had heeded a warning: Don’t let him in.]]> 368 Lisa Jewell 1668033879 Jayme 4
This just may be my FAVORITE Lisa Jewell novel yet!

⚠️ Some men should come with a warning label: “DON’T LET HIM IN!��

But since they don’t-three women, connected together by one man-are going to learn this lesson the hard way��

Restauranteur Paddy Swann was beloved by all of his customers right up until the day a man pushed him in the path of an oncoming train, leaving behind his wife Nina and their two grown children, Ash and Arlo.

Shortly after Paddy’s funeral, Nina and Ash, receive a package in the mail from Nick Ratcliffe, an old friend of Paddy’s. It contains a nondescript lighter that once belonged to him decades ago, along with a thoughtful note. This unexpected gift draws Nick and Nina together when they get together to reminisce —much to Ash’s dismay.

She senses that something is off about this man who seems “too good to be true��, but her Mom won’t take her seriously, so she will have to play detective to see if her hunch is right.

The third woman is Martha-a small town florist whose second husband, Al is frequently absent from home��

The book is a little bit confusing during the initial few chapters as we get the the alternating POV’s of several characters, (indicated by a change in font) but once I had everyone straight in my mind, the story quickly became COMPULSIVE reading and hard to put down!

I was rooting for Ash to find the evidence she needed, and was throughly entertained from start to finish! What more can we ask for from a book?

I enjoyed discussing this one with Mary Beth, MarilynW and DeAnn! Be sure to watch for their reviews for additional insight!

Available June 24, 2025

Thank You to Atria Books for the gifted copy provided through NetGalley! As always, I am offering my candid thoughts!]]> 4.00 2025
author: Lisa Jewell
name: Jayme
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/30
date added: 2025/01/30
shelves: netgalley, buddy-read, mystery-suspense
review:
4.5 ⭐️

This just may be my FAVORITE Lisa Jewell novel yet!

⚠️ Some men should come with a warning label: “DON’T LET HIM IN!��

But since they don’t-three women, connected together by one man-are going to learn this lesson the hard way��

Restauranteur Paddy Swann was beloved by all of his customers right up until the day a man pushed him in the path of an oncoming train, leaving behind his wife Nina and their two grown children, Ash and Arlo.

Shortly after Paddy’s funeral, Nina and Ash, receive a package in the mail from Nick Ratcliffe, an old friend of Paddy’s. It contains a nondescript lighter that once belonged to him decades ago, along with a thoughtful note. This unexpected gift draws Nick and Nina together when they get together to reminisce —much to Ash’s dismay.

She senses that something is off about this man who seems “too good to be true��, but her Mom won’t take her seriously, so she will have to play detective to see if her hunch is right.

The third woman is Martha-a small town florist whose second husband, Al is frequently absent from home��

The book is a little bit confusing during the initial few chapters as we get the the alternating POV’s of several characters, (indicated by a change in font) but once I had everyone straight in my mind, the story quickly became COMPULSIVE reading and hard to put down!

I was rooting for Ash to find the evidence she needed, and was throughly entertained from start to finish! What more can we ask for from a book?

I enjoyed discussing this one with Mary Beth, MarilynW and DeAnn! Be sure to watch for their reviews for additional insight!

Available June 24, 2025

Thank You to Atria Books for the gifted copy provided through NetGalley! As always, I am offering my candid thoughts!
]]> 22430311 A tragic accident? Or suicide? Her grief-stricken husband, Adrian, is determined to find out.

Maya had a job she enjoyed; she had friends. They'd been in love. She even got on with his two previous wives and their children. In fact, they'd all been one big happy family.

But before long Adrian starts to identify the dark cracks in his perfect life.
Because everyone has secrets. And secrets have consequences. Some of which can be devastating.]]> 337 Lisa Jewell Jayme 4
Everyone has their secrets, and things are not always as they appear to be.

It was the first time that I have read a book by Lisa Jewell, but it won't be my last.

Recommended for fans of Liane Moriarity...this is an author I was pleased to discover! ]]> 3.44 2014
author: Lisa Jewell
name: Jayme
average rating: 3.44
book published: 2014
rating: 4
read at: 2016/04/03
date added: 2025/01/30
shelves:
review:
Was Maya's death a suicide, or an accident?

Everyone has their secrets, and things are not always as they appear to be.

It was the first time that I have read a book by Lisa Jewell, but it won't be my last.

Recommended for fans of Liane Moriarity...this is an author I was pleased to discover!
]]> 215570667
Years later Tom makes a decision that ripples through their families' lives in ways he could not have foreseen. As the consequences of that fateful choice unfold, two women's paths become irrevocably intertwined. But when old love clashes with new, who will be left standing? And what happens when your secrets come back to haunt you?]]> 336 Loretta Rothschild 1250381827 Jayme 0 4.13 2025
author: Loretta Rothschild
name: Jayme
average rating: 4.13
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/29
shelves: to-read, women-s-fiction, widget-received, netgalley, influencer-program, buddy-read
review:

]]> 216458750 When a daring art heist takes place at the Regency Grand, Molly’s life is threatened. The question is who’s out to get her, and why? Long-buried secrets will be revealed in this intriguing and heartwarming novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Maid and The Mystery Guest

A wedding. A heist. A secret.

Molly Gray’s life is about to change in ways she could never have imagined. As the esteemed Head Maid and recently promoted Special Events Manager of the Regency Grand Hotel, good things are just around the corner, including her marriage to her beloved fiancé, Juan Manuel, only two months away.��

But Molly’s entire existence is upended when a film crew descends upon the hotel to shoot the hit reality TV show Hidden Treasures, starring popular art appraisers Brown and Beagle. On a whim, Molly brings in a shoebox containing a few of her gran’s old things for appraisal, and much to everyone's surprise, one item turns out to be a rare and priceless treasure. Instantly, Molly is both a multi-millionaire and a media sensation—the world’s rags-to-riches darling—until the priceless piece vanishes from the hotel in the boldest, brashest antiquities heist in recent memory.

The key to the mystery lies in the past, in a long-forgotten diary written by Molly’s gran. For the first time ever, Molly learns about Gran’s true-to-life fairytale, a young girl to the manor born, the only child of a wealthy magnate. But when Gran falls head over heels in love with a young man her parents deem below her station, her life is thrown into turmoil. As fate would have it, the greatest love of Gran’s life is someone Molly knows quite well��.

Together with her friends, Molly combs the past and the present to catch the thief before looming threats against her become real.

A spirited heist caper and an epic love story, The Maid’s Secret is a spellbinding whodunnit that will capture and warm your heart.]]> 326 Nita Prose 0735250561 Jayme 3
Molly Gray is the esteemed Head Maid and recently promoted Special Events Manager of the Regency Grand Hotel. And, with her upcoming marriage to Juan Manuel only two months away, life seems too good to be true.

When the hit reality TV show “Hidden Treasures�� starring popular art appraisers Brown and Beagle, chooses to film an episode at the hotel, Molly brings in a shoebox containing a few of her gran’s old things for appraisal, and much to everyone's surprise, one item turns out to be a rare and priceless treasure.

Could life become even better?

Molly and Juan will become multi-millionaires if she agrees to auction off the item-but the priceless heirloom vanishes in a daring heist before the sale is final!

The key to the mystery lies in the past, in a long-forgotten diary written by Molly’s Gran -which you can see her clutching in her hands, on the adorable book cover!

The story unfolds in alternating chapters, Present Day and Gran’s Diary entries. .

Although I have LOVED the earlier installments of this cozy mystery series-I struggled to stay engaged with this one mainly because of Gran’s chapters.

Gran was always humble and wise-but in this book she’s a young girl you WON’T recognize-and she DID NOT even resemble the woman we have grown to love! She is written as a completely different character!

In her diary she tells of her upbringing and forbidden love, and the story reads more like Historical Romance than a cozy mystery. I really didn’t need to know THIS much about her younger life.

Molly’s chapters are authentically Molly, but only comprise 50% of the book.

Nita Prose cleverly ties the two timelines together, when Molly figures out who is behind the heist because of things she learns in her Gran’s diary, but I found myself wanting to skim to get to the final page, which is never a good sign.

Sadly, Molly the Maid #3 only earns 3 stars from me, but other reviewers have loved it-so you might too! Be sure to read a sample of reviews!

A buddy read with Ceecee? Did she agree?

Available April 8, 2025.

Thank You to Viking for the gifted ARC provided through NetGalley. As always, I am offering my candid thoughts!]]> 3.97 2025
author: Nita Prose
name: Jayme
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2025
rating: 3
read at: 2025/01/23
date added: 2025/01/24
shelves: part-of-a-series, cozy, mystery-suspense
review:
3 stars ⭐️

Molly Gray is the esteemed Head Maid and recently promoted Special Events Manager of the Regency Grand Hotel. And, with her upcoming marriage to Juan Manuel only two months away, life seems too good to be true.

When the hit reality TV show “Hidden Treasures�� starring popular art appraisers Brown and Beagle, chooses to film an episode at the hotel, Molly brings in a shoebox containing a few of her gran’s old things for appraisal, and much to everyone's surprise, one item turns out to be a rare and priceless treasure.

Could life become even better?

Molly and Juan will become multi-millionaires if she agrees to auction off the item-but the priceless heirloom vanishes in a daring heist before the sale is final!

The key to the mystery lies in the past, in a long-forgotten diary written by Molly’s Gran -which you can see her clutching in her hands, on the adorable book cover!

The story unfolds in alternating chapters, Present Day and Gran’s Diary entries. .

Although I have LOVED the earlier installments of this cozy mystery series-I struggled to stay engaged with this one mainly because of Gran’s chapters.

Gran was always humble and wise-but in this book she’s a young girl you WON’T recognize-and she DID NOT even resemble the woman we have grown to love! She is written as a completely different character!

In her diary she tells of her upbringing and forbidden love, and the story reads more like Historical Romance than a cozy mystery. I really didn’t need to know THIS much about her younger life.

Molly’s chapters are authentically Molly, but only comprise 50% of the book.

Nita Prose cleverly ties the two timelines together, when Molly figures out who is behind the heist because of things she learns in her Gran’s diary, but I found myself wanting to skim to get to the final page, which is never a good sign.

Sadly, Molly the Maid #3 only earns 3 stars from me, but other reviewers have loved it-so you might too! Be sure to read a sample of reviews!

A buddy read with Ceecee? Did she agree?

Available April 8, 2025.

Thank You to Viking for the gifted ARC provided through NetGalley. As always, I am offering my candid thoughts!
]]> 218153866 A charming story about romance, friendship, and a love of books, in which two women—a lonely remote worker and a widowed single mom—and a handsome local bookstore clerk find themselves in an unusual love triangle when an anonymous note left in a book finds the wrong recipient.

April, a smart and lonely tech worker, worries work from home has gotten out of hand: She’s left an anonymous note in a book for Westley, the clerk at her Seattle neighborhood bookstore who has a gentle smile and looks great in flannel. But thanks to fate, Laura—a busy single mom who had given up on love—buys the book, finds the note, and thinks Westley has left it for her. A handsome man who loves books seems like just the plot twist she has been looking for.

Meanwhile, Westley—not the most perceptive—is too distracted by the movie filming at the store and the ambition it’s unlocked in him to notice either of the two women. But as April and Laura’s anonymous correspondence continues back and forth, their mundane routines are challenged, sparking a glimmer of hope. Is a happy ending in the cards for them?

A hilarious and intricate web of mistaken identities and serendipitous encounters, Storybook Ending is a playful tribute to romance, friendship, and bookstores, and to the objects—from a forgotten slip of paper to someone’s heart—left between the pages of books we loved.]]> 320 Moira Macdonald 0593851293 Jayme 0 3.60 2025
author: Moira Macdonald
name: Jayme
average rating: 3.60
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/24
shelves: to-read, books-about-books, contemporary-fiction, romance, netgalley
review:

]]> 218431658
What if there were a cure for the broken-hearted?

Welcome to the Poppy Fields, where there’s hope for even the most battered hearts to heal.

Here, in a remote stretch of the California desert, lies an experimental and controversial treatment center that allows those suffering from the heartache of loss to sleep through their pain...and keep on sleeping. After patients awaken from this prolonged state of slumber, they will finally be healed. But only if they’re willing to accept the potential shadowy side effects.

On a journey to this mystical destination are four very different strangers and one little dog: Ava, a book illustrator; Ray, a fireman; Sasha, an occupational therapist; Sky, a free spirit; and a friendly pup named PJ. As they attempt to make their way from the Midwest all the way to the Poppy Fields—where they hope to find Ellis, its brilliant, enigmatic founder—each of their past secrets and mysterious motivations threaten to derail their voyage.

A high-concept speculative novel about heartache, hope, and human resilience, The Poppy Fields explores the path of grief and healing, a journey at once profoundly universal and unique to every person, posing the questions: How do we heal in the wake of great loss? And how far are we willing to go in order to be healed?]]> 324 Nikki Erlick 0063349337 Jayme 0 to-read 4.06 2025
author: Nikki Erlick
name: Jayme
average rating: 4.06
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/23
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 220435891 For readers of��Girl A��and��Notes on an Execution��comes a whip-smart and suspenseful story of a woman on trial for murder, as told through the eyes of the most important men in her own life.

Daughter, client, lover. Monster. Victim.��

You were a sweet girl.

You were the prettiest girl I’d ever seen.

You were a bomb going off in my life.

You were a challenge.

You were the story of a lifetime.

When four wealthy and influential members are poisoned at London’s most exclusive private club, a young waitress is arrested. As her personal life and upbringing are picked over, her obsession with online conspiracy theories is exposed.

After the murder accusation, five men begin to question how well they really knew her. To each of them—her father, a reporter, her former lover, her friend, and her lawyer—she is someone entirely different. But which is the true face of Katherine Cole? And is she a killer?

The truth about who Katherine is, and what exactly she has done, lies somewhere between these five male perspectives. The searing laser of the male gaze has never been more dangerous, as Katherine’s trial grips the nation and theories and perceptions about her spiral out of control.

What follows is a chilling kaleidoscope of a thriller, both a smart courtroom drama and a frightening examination of how one woman can be so ruthlessly deconstructed by the men who know her best—and just what happens when she decides to speak out at last.]]> 336 Nicci Cloke 0063395045 Jayme 0 to-read, crime, netgalley 4.26
author: Nicci Cloke
name: Jayme
average rating: 4.26
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/23
shelves: to-read, crime, netgalley
review:

]]> 220844657 Living a double life always comes with a cost.


A down-on-her-luck waitress at a posh New Jersey country club, Kim Valva couldn’t be living a more different life from the carefree socialites she serves. Her live-in boyfriend recently cheated on her, her social life is in shambles, and her dog needs a life-saving surgery that she can’t afford. Then her luck seems to change when a mysterious figure identifying themself only as The Stranger contacts her with an offer she can’t Put a pill in the new member’s drink and, when he dies, she’ll have enough money to fix her dog and her life.



Her target turns out to be Tony Fiore—Kim’s bad boy ex-boyfriend from high school. Fifteen years have passed, and he now goes by Anthony Fuller. He’s cleaned up, made tens of millions, and his gorgeous fiancée, twenty-two-year-old PJ Walsh, is on his arm.



PJ had her own agenda from the second she met Anthony. Find him, trick him, marry him, kill him. It was supposed to be easy, but she finds that while living her double life, the lines blur between who she is and who she’s pretending to be.



Stunned to see Tony again, Kim can’t bring herself to go through with spiking his drink. Instead, it is PJ who dies horrifically at the table just as dinner ends. Was someone else at the club—member or worker—tasked with poisoning PJ just as she had been instructed to do to Tony? Who would want both of them dead? With no one to trust and The Stranger to answer to, Kim must peel back the layers of deceit to reveal a deeply buried truth, more shocking than she could ever imagine…]]> Jaime Lynn Hendricks 1613166052 Jayme 0 to-read, maybe 4.89
author: Jaime Lynn Hendricks
name: Jayme
average rating: 4.89
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/22
shelves: to-read, maybe
review:

]]> 219115198
She has his dead wife’s heart; the one she wants is his. The author of The Family Plot brings her signature prose to a twisty novel about a heart transplant patient who becomes romantically obsessed with her donor’s husband.

Rosie Lachlan wants nothing more than to find The One.

A year after she was dumped in her wedding dress, she’s working at her parents�� bridal salon, anxious for a happy ending that can’t come soon enough. After receiving a life-saving heart transplant, Rosie knows her health is precious and precarious. She suspects her heart donor is Daphne Thorne, the wife of local celebrity author Morgan Thorne, who she begins messaging via an anonymous service called DonorConnect, ostensibly to learn more about Daphne. But Rosie has a secret: She’s convinced that now that she has his wife’s heart, she and Morgan are meant to be together.

As she and Morgan correspond, the pretense of avoiding personal details soon disappears, even if Rosie’s keeping some cards close to her chest. But as she digs deeper into Morgan’s previous marriage, she discovers disturbing rumors about the man she’s falling for. Could Morgan have had something to do with his late wife’s death? And can Rosie’s heart sustain another break—or is she next?]]> Megan Collins Jayme 4
“She has his dead wife’s heart; the one she wants is his�� -great tag line from the Publisher!
Look closely ]]> 3.58 2025
author: Megan Collins
name: Jayme
average rating: 3.58
book published: 2025
rating: 4
read at: 2025/01/17
date added: 2025/01/19
shelves: audible, psychological-thriller
review:
AUDIBLE: 10 hours at 1.0x or 6 hours 40 minutes at 1.5x

“She has his dead wife’s heart; the one she wants is his�� -great tag line from the Publisher!
Look closely
]]> 217872612 A hilarious and heartfelt novel about how loves and lives are never truly lost, for fans of Rebecca Serle and Taylor Jenkins Reid.

With a leading role on a hit TV show and a relationship with Hollywood's latest heartthrob, Meg Bryan appears to have everything she ever wanted. But underneath the layers of makeup and hairspray, her happiness is as fake as her stage name, Lana Lord. Following a small breakdown at her thirtieth birthday party, she books an impromptu trip where she knows the grass is greener: Ireland. Specifically, the quaint little village where she and her best friend Aimee always dreamt of moving—a dream that fell apart when an accident claimed Aimee’s life a decade ago.

When Meg arrives, the people in town are so nice, treating her not as a stranger, but a friend. Except for the (extremely hot) bartender giving her the cold shoulder. Meg writes it all off as jetlag until she looks in the mirror. Her hair is no longer bleached within an inch of its life, her skin has a few natural fine lines, and her nose looks like�� well, her old nose. Her real nose.

Her phone reveals hundreds of pictures of her life in this little town: with an adorable dog she ��DZ����’t know; with the bartender who might be her (ex?) boyfriend; and at a retail job unrelated to acting. Eventually, she comes to accept that she somehow made a quantum slide into an alternate version of her life. But the most shocking realization of all? In this life, her best friend Aimee is alive and well…but wants nothing to do with Meg.

Despite her bewilderment, Meg is clear-eyed about one thing: this is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to reconnect with her friend and repair what she broke. She finagles an opportunity to act in the play Aimee is writing and directing and as the project unfolds, Meg realizes that events as she remembers them may not be the only truth, and that an impossible choice looms before her.]]> 320 Paige Harbison 1250358086 Jayme 0 4.33 2025
author: Paige Harbison
name: Jayme
average rating: 4.33
book published: 2025
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/19
shelves: to-read, maybe, influencer-program, widget-received, romance, contemporary-fiction
review:

]]> 58014893
Until she receives the call that sends her racing back to Barry’s Bay and into the orbit of Sam Florek—the man she never thought she’d have to live without.

For six summers, through hazy afternoons on the water and warm summer nights working in his family’s restaurant and curling up together with books—medical textbooks for him and work-in-progress horror short stories for her—Percy and Sam had been inseparable. Eventually that friendship turned into something breathtakingly more, before it fell spectacularly apart.

When Percy returns to the lake for Sam’s mother’s funeral, their connection is as undeniable as it had always been. But until Percy can confront the decisions she made and the years she’s spent punishing herself for them, they’ll never know whether their love might be bigger than the biggest mistakes of their past.

Told over the course of six years and one weekend, Every Summer After is a big, sweeping nostalgic look at love and the people and choices that mark us forever.

Six summers to fall in love. One moment to fall apart. A weekend to get it right.]]> 320 Carley Fortune 0593438531 Jayme 0 4.17 2022
author: Carley Fortune
name: Jayme
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2025/01/17
shelves: to-read, already-own, romance, backlist
review:

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