"My only ding would be that it dragged a bit in the beginning, but stick with it. The end twist is pretty good. The open ended epilogue leads me to believe maybe a book 2? Not incredibly strong character development but enough to make you keep reading and decide early on who you like and who you don’t like."

&��ܴdz�;3.5⭐️
Chosen as my Kindle First Reads for April.
Took me a little while to get into it but it really did grab hold of me a little over the half way mark! I really enjoyed the vibes, it was kind of reminding me of saltburn with the rich, the fake rich, and all the stuff that goes on behind their backs. "

"An Amazon First Reads choice for April 2025

This was actually not the book I would have chosen but my puppy stepped on the iPad and here we have it. Thankfully, this debut novel was better than the publication blurb would suggest.

It’s full of gorgeous women, handsome men, the uber wealthy and those that cling on to them. They play, fight, carouse and are mostly obnoxious; not the deepest wells on the planet. Family is important to some but self is everything. This book is also full of dead bodies. It starts with Alejandro - son, brother, friend, tennis player, but is that all? It takes 95% of the story to find out; good restraint by author, Diego Boneta.

What else did Boneta do well? The sexual scenes also are done with some restraint; no graphic description. This also applies to violence. Language does include a full complement of expletives but not to excess. If you don’t have a little knowledge of Spanish, you’re going to miss a few phrases along the way because the following text doesn’t always provide enough context to clue you in. It was fine for me ‘cause I have the language.

Descriptions of landscapes, architecture, clothing, etc. are very good; better than emotional portrayals. I needed to hear more from the characters. What were they thinking or feeling rather than the omniscient narrator giving me the play-by-play. Tidbits to solving the mystery are dropped along the way in a mostly subtle way but seasoned mystery readers will
most likely be clued in well in advance of the ending; or think they are. There are a few very slick twists near the ending.

Boneta should have gone with the “less is more�� adage and left out the Epilogue, IMO. It’s too Lifetime TV and detracts from an otherwise smart finale. I was debating between 3-4 stars and that cliche pushed me down. Still in all, THE UNDOING OF ALEJANDRO VELASCO is a mildly Telenovela styled mystery, grammatically well written, fast moving, nicely constructed “who done it��; especially for an author’s first time📚"

"I enjoy stories set in convenience stores, especially those in Japan.

This time, the story takes place in Tenderness, a small convenience store in the seaside town of Mojiko, Kitakyushu.

The book shares several intertwined stories of people connected to this store.

I really liked the characters �� Shiba, Mitsuri, the Whatever Guy, Shohei, and many others.

The community around the store feels kind, warm, and full of simple joys.

The book never shouts. It listens. It reminds me that small acts of kindness can ripple through a community and change lives.

I felt a kind of soft melancholy while reading.

The characters carry wounds, regrets, or quiet hopes but there’s also a gentle, comforting joy throughout.

"