Book Review: The Good Girl by Mary Kubica

Title: The Good Girl

Author: Mary Kubica

Series/Standalone: Standalone

Genre: Thriller, Adult Fiction

Pages: 352

Publisher: MIRA

Year Published: 2014

Format: Audiobook 

"I've been following her for the past few days. I know where she buys her groceries, where she works. I don't know the color of her eyes or what they look like when she's scared. But I will. 

One night, Mia Dennett enters a bar to meet her on-again, off-again boyfriend. But when he doesn't show, she unwisely leaves with an enigmatic stranger. At first Colin Thatcher seems like a safe one-night stand. But following Colin home will turn out to be the worst mistake of Mia's life.

When Colin decides to hide Mia in a secluded cabin in rural Minnesota instead of delivering her to his employers, Mia's mother, Eve, and detective Gabe Hoffman will stop at nothing to find them. But no one could have predicted the emotional entanglements that eventually cause this family's world to shatter."

My Rating: 2/5

I have read quite a few books from Mary Kubica at this point and they either really hit for me or miss. This one was a miss. It wasn't what I wanted to read about, but I also think that this might be her debut. So it makes sense that her work has grown from here. I plan on continuing to read her work, mostly on audio. Her audiobooks are some of my favorite to listen to.

Thanks for reading,

Sidny

Book Review: You've Lost a Lot of Blood by Eric LaRocca

Title: You've Lost a Lot of Blood 

Author: Eric LaRocca

Series/Standalone: Standalone

Genre: Horror, Adult

Pages: 236

Publisher: Self-Published

Year Published: 2022

Format: Paperback (Library Copy)

"A disturbing new vision of terror from the author of Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke.

'Each precious thing I show you in this book is a holy relic from the night we both perished- the night when I combed you from my hair and watered the moon with your blood.

You've lost a lot of blood..."

My Rating: 2/5

This book was disturbing for me. The use of insects and the way the story is told is excellent. But I felt like either I was missing something or the book was. While it was uncomfortable, it wasn't exactly what I thought I was getting into. I would really enjoy reading more from the author and seeing if there is something I would enjoy more from this author.

Thanks for reading,

Sidny

Book Review: Such a Quiet Place by Megan Miranda

Title: Such a Quiet Place

Author: Megan Miranda

Series/Standalone: Standalone

Genre: Mystery, Fiction, Adult

Pages: 337

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Year Published: 2021

Format: Audiobook

"Welcome to Hollow's Edge, where you can find secrets, scandal, and a suspected killer- all on one street.

Hollow's Edge use to be a quiet place. A private and idyllic neighborhood where neighbors dropped in on neighbors, celebrated graduation and holiday parties together, and looked out for one another. But then came the murder of Brandon and Fiona Truett. A year and a half later, Hollow's Edge is simmering. The residents are trapped, unable to sell their homes, confronted daily by the empty Truett house, and suffocated by their trial testimonies that implicated one of their own. Ruby Fletcher. And now, Ruby's back

With her conviction overturned, Ruby waltzes right back to Hollow's Edge, and into the home she shared with Harper Nash. Harper, five years older, has always treated Ruby like a wayward younger sister. But now she's terrified. What possible good could come of Ruby returning to the scene of the crime? And how can she possibly turn her away, when she knows Ruby has nowhere to go?

Within days, suspicion spreads like a virus across Hollow's Edge. It's increasingly clear that not everyone told the truth about the night of Truett's murders. And when Harper begins receiving threatening notes, she realizes she has to uncover the truth before someone else becomes the killer's next victim."

My Rating: 2/5

I was excited to read more by the author and I don't think that this was a great place to start again with this author. But it wasn't for me. It felt very anticlimactic throughout the book. The characters felt unreal to me and there were too many of them to keep track of. That being said the atmosphere was creepy and that worked for me. I do plan to read more from the author in the future. Any suggestions?

Thanks for reading,

Sidny

Book Review: Reckless by Elsie Silver

Title: Reckless

Author: Elsie Silver

Series/Standalone: Chestnut Springs Series (Book #4)

Genre: Adult, Romance, Contemporary

Pages: 466

Publisher: Self Published

Year Published: 2023

Format: Ebook (Kindle Unlimited)

First Line:"'I can't fathom why you feel the need to go work at the dingy little hospital in the country.'"

"Theo Silva. Rowdy bull rider. Notorious ladies' man. Scorching hot trouble wrapped in a drool-worthy package.

And he's looking at me like I might be his next meal.

But I'm almost free of my toxic marriage and sworn off men entirely. So all I see when I look back is temptation served up with a heaping side of heartbreak.

The man is hard to trust-and even harder to resist.

Make that impossible. Because Theo is persistent. And no matter how hard I try to freeze him out, he melts my icy exteriors and pulls apart my defenses.

Over a drink in a small town bar, I blurt out my deepest, darkest secrets. Then I spend the singular hottest night of my life with him.

He worships my body. He makes me blush. I come alive beneath his hands.

Then I tell him to forget it ever happened. I want simple, and with him it all feels complicated.

It was supposed to be a one-time thing.

A secret.

But that little plus sign is going to make this secret impossible to keep."

My Rating: 5/5

This is my absolute favourite in the series so far. I always say that I love a grumpy-sunshine where the grump is the female lead. Because I am also the grump in my relationship. The trope that is in this book is written so well and really just added to the story overall (I mean how could it not). The way everything was written you couldn't help but root for this couple and the way they interact is incredible. Not to mention super sexy. I would highly recommend this series and I can't wait to read the final (?) book next month. 

Thanks for reading,

Sidny

Book Review: It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover

Title: It Ends with Us

Author: Colleen Hoover

Series/Standalone: It Ends with Us Duology (Book #1)

Genre: Contemporary, Hardhitting, New Adult

Pages: 386

Publisher: Atria Books

Year Published: 2016

Format: Audiobook

"Sometimes it is the one who loves you who hurts you the most. 

Lily hasn't always had it easy, but that's never stopped her from working hard for the life she wants. She's come a long way from the small town in Maine where she grew up- she graduated from college, moved to Boston, and started her own business. So when she feels a spark with a gorgeous neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid, everything in Lily's life suddenly seems almost too good to be true.

Ryle is assertive, stubborn, maybe even a little arrogant. He's also sensitive, brilliant, and has a total soft spot for Lily. And the way he looks in scrubs certainly doesn't hurt. Lily can't get him out of her head. But Ryle's complete aversion to relationships is disturbing. Even as Lily finds herself becoming the exception to his 'no dating' rule, she can't help but wonder what made him that way in the first place.

As questions about her new relationship overwhelm her, so do thoughts of Atlas Corrigan- her first love and a link to the past she left behind. He was her kindred spirit, her protector. When Atlas suddenly reappears, everything Lily has built with Ryle is threatened."

My Rating: 3.5/5

This is somehow still tabbed generally under romance, and I don't think that is the correct genre that I would identify it as. This is a hard-hitting new adult contemporary for me. There is romance, but there is more than that. There are so many important discussions that happen within this story. Triggers for suicide, abuse, sexual assault, etc.  While I think this story was important I did not always enjoy the telling of it and the writing overall, so for me it was 3.5 but I can see why people feel so strongly about the plot line.

Thanks for reading,

Sidny

Book Review: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Title: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid

Series/Standalone: Standalone

Genre: Adult Fiction, Historical Fiction, Romance

Pages: 389

Publisher: Atria Books

Year Published: 2017

Format: Audiobook

"Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now?

Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband has left her, and her professional life is going nowhere. Regardless of why Evelyn has selected her to write her biography. Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career.

Summoned to Evelyn's luxurious apartment, Monique listens in fascination as the actress tells her story. From making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the '80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way. Evelyn unspools a tale of ruthless ambition, unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love. Monique begins to feel a very real connection to the legendary star, but as Evelyn's story nears its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique's own in tragic and irreversible ways."

My Rating: 5/5

This was so much more than I expected. I thought that it might have been overhyped so I put off reading it repeatedly, but after picking it up I'm so frustrated that I waited so long. The audiobook narration was incredible, the book's pace was beautiful and Taylor Jenkins Reid built a world that I want to live in. I wanted to watch an Evelyn Hugo movie and it is heartbreaking to remember on repeat that this story is fictionalized. I look forward to reading more by the author and am so grateful to have found one of my new favourite books.

Thanks for reading,

Sidny

Book Review: 11 Hours by Octavia Jensen

Title: 11 Hours

Author: Octavia Jensen

Series/Standalone: Eleven Series (Book #1)

Genre: Novella, Smut

Pages: 53

Publisher: Self-Published

Year Published: 2022

Format: Kindle Unlimited

"A lawyer and a paralegal get trapped in an elevator- it sounds like the beginning of a bad joke, but it's not a joke.

It's my life.

It's been hours with no sign of rescue, and the only thing I know for sure is that if I don't manage to either get out of here or under him soon, I'm going to go insane."

My Rating: 4/5

This is such a short little smutty novella that is fun. It has some plot, but it's mostly just people getting ready to get down and dirty. My only reason for it not checking all the boxes of the expectations I want it to be. There were a few things that moved a bit to out of left field, even for what it was.

Thanks for reading,

Sidny

Book Review: On These Black Sands by Vanessa Rasanen

Title: On These Black Sands

Author: Vanessa Rasanen

Series/Standalone: Aisling Sea Series (Book #1)

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Pirate, Romance

Pages: 436

Publisher: Crab Apple Books

Year Published: 2021

Format: Ebook (Kindle Unlimited)

"He doesn't mind killing people... he just prefers to do it on his own terms.

But the pirates have no say in who they kill on this island.

The council orders. The pirates obey.

This arrangement has kept Declan from setting foot on these shores for years... until a bit of bad luck forces him to return.

But it may prove a lucrative stop, if the rebel's information is true.

Find the dagger. Escape this life.

But only if this damn stowaway doesn't ruin everything first."

DNF @ 43%

My Rating: 1/5

I really thought that I would enjoy this book, but I didn't expect it to read so Y.A. When I read something on Kindle Unlimited I'm here for adult romance or smut so the fact that this read so Y.A. made it not for me in the slightest. Every time I picked it up I put it right back down. The pining wasn't there, the plot was just ok and the characters didn't seem to have much personality other than being naive. Overall, not for me.

Thanks for reading,

Sidny

Book Review: Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard

Title: Pretty Little Liars

Author: Sara Shepard

Series/Standalone: Pretty Little Liars Series (Book #1)

Genre: Young Adult, Thriller, Mystery

Pages: 286

Publisher: HarperTeen

Year Published: 2006

Format: Paperback Copy

First Line: "Imagine it's a couple of years ago, the summer between seventh and eighth grade."

"EVERYONE HAS SOMETHING TO HIDE- ESPECIALLY HIGH SCHOOL JUNIORS SPENCER, ARIA, EMILY AND HANNA

Spencer covets her sister's boyfriend. Aria's fantasizing about her English teacher. Emily's crushing on the new girl at school. Hanna uses some ugly tricks to stay beautiful. But they've all kept an even bigger secret since their friend Alison vanished.

How do I know? Because I know everything about the bad girls they were, the naughty girls they are, and the dirty secrets they've kept. And guess what? I'm telling."

My Rating: 3/5

Before anyone asks, no I have never watched the show, so I don't know anything about this series and that's how I plan on keeping it as long as I'm reading this brain candy book. This book is deeply problematic, very early 2000s, and over the top. I flew through it because of the content, but I acknowledge that it isn't the best thing I've ever read. It's fun, and addicting. If you like rich people drama but want it crossed with an ABC and CW style show level of drama I would recommend it. Also, does anyone know how closely the TV show follows the books?

Thanks for reading,

Sidny

Book Review: The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell

Title: The Family Upstairs

Author: Lisa Jewell

Series/Standalone: The Family Upstairs Duology (Book #1)

Genre: Thriller, Adult Fiction, Mystery

Pages: 340

Publisher: Audiobook

Year Published: 2019

Format: Audiobook

"Soon after her twenty-fifth birthday, Libby Jones returns home from work to find the letter she's been waiting for her entire life. She rips it open with one driving thought: I am finally going to know who I am.

She soon learns not only the identity of her birth parents, but also that she is the sole inheritor of their abandoned mansion on the banks of the Thames in London's fashionable Chelsea neighborhood, worth millions. Everything in Libby's life is about to change. But what she can't possibly know is that others have been waiting for this day as well- and she is on a collision course to meet them.

Twenty-five years ago, police were called to 16 Cheyne Walk with reports of a baby crying. When they arrived, they found a healthy ten-month-old happily cooing in her crib in the bedroom. Downstairs in the kitchen lay three dead bodies, all dressed in black, next to a hastily scrawled note. And the four other children reported to live at Cheyne Walk were gone. 

The can't-look-away story of three entangled families living in a house with the darkest of secrets."

My Rating: 4.5/5

This was so close to a five stars for me. I always enjoy reading a book that has a culty style setting. It's something that I find very interesting to read about. The author does a wonderful job of writing an atmospheric telling of both the past and the present. I enjoyed the different p.o.v.s but I thought that the ending wrapped up a little too neatly for a thriller/mystery. I do plan on reading the second book, but I'm not sure how the author is going to draw out the thrilling aspect even more.

Thanks for reading,

Sidny

Book Review: Love Her or Lose Her by Tessa Bailey

Title: Love Her or Lose Her

Author: Tessa Bailey

Series/Standalone: Hot & Hammered Series (Book #2)

Genre: Adult Fiction, Romance, Contemporary

Pages: 336

Publisher: Avon

Year Published: 2020

Format: Audiobook

"Rosie and Dominic Vega are the perfect couple: high school sweethearts, best friends, madly in love. Well, they used to be anyway. Now, Rosie's lucky to get a caveman grunt from the ex-soldier every time she walks in the door. Dom is faithful and a great provider, but the man she fell in love with 10 years ago is nowhere to be found. When her girlfriends encourage Rosie to demand more out of life and pursue her dream of opening a restaurant, she decides to demand more out of love, too. Three words: marriage boot camp.

Never in a million years did Rosie believe her stoic, too-manly-to-emot husband would actually agree to relationship rehab with a weed-smoking hippie. Dom talking about feelings? Sitting on pillows? Communing with nature? Learning love languages? Nope. But to her surprise, he's all in, and it forces her to admit her own role in their cracked foundation. As they complete one ridiculous- year surprisingly helpful- assignment after another, their remodeled relationship gets stronger than ever. Except just as they're getting back on track, Rosie discovers Dom has a secret... and it could demolish everything."

My Rating: 5/5

I absolutely flew right through this book. The characters are great to follow and distinct in who they are (sometimes in contemporary romance I feel like the main characters can become very bland). The chemistry between these characters was off the charts! I love the trope of a married couple reconnecting and finding each other. I will say I thought this would have more to do with Dom's time in the military and while it touched on it, it did very lightly. I would strongly recommend if you are looking for a super smutty but not dark romance. 

Thanks for reading,

Sidny

Review: Haunthology by Jeremy Haun

Title: Haunthology

Author: Jeremy Haun

Artist(s): Jeremy Haun

Series/Standalone: Standalone

Genre: Graphic Novel, Horror

Pages: 152

Publisher: Image Comics

Year Published: 2023

Format: Paperback Copy (Library)

"From creatures of the night... to even more terrifying creatures of the day, Haunthology is an anxiety-inducing collection of 28 short stories and vignettes from the mind of JEREMY HAUN, the writer and artist behind, THE BEAUTY, THE REALM, The Red Mother, The Approach and other nightmarish mindscapes. Whether exploring a claustrophobic old house full of nefarious entities or exploring the heavy thoughts one has during the pending end of the world, this very personal project was completely written and drawn during the COVID shutdowns."

My Rating: 1.75/5

This didn't leave me with anxiety or fear. I wanted to be unsettled and uncomfortable but I just don't think any of the short stories had enough time to freak me out. This might be a me problem but I need more time for an author to work on the atmosphere to scare me. Overall, just ok. The art was gorgeous though.

Thanks for reading,

Sidny

Book Review: Emma in the Night by Wendy Walker

Title: Emma in the Night

Author: Wendy Walker

Series/Standalone: Standalone

Genre: Thriller, Adult Fiction

Pages: 308

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Year Published: 2017

Format: Paperback Copy (Own It)

First Line: "We believe what we want to believe."

"From the bestselling author of All is Not Forgotten comes a thriller about two missing sisters, a twisted family, and what happens when one girl comes back....

One night three years ago, the Tanner sisters disappeared: fifteen-year-old Cass and seventeen-year-old Emma. Three years later, Cass returns, without her sister Emma. her story is one of kidnapping and betrayal, of a mysterious island where the two were held. But to forensic psychiatrist Dr. Abby Winter, something doesn't add up. looking deep within this dysfunctional family Dr. Winter uncovers a life where boundaries were violated and a narcissistic parent held sway. And where one sister's return might be the beginning of the crime."

My Rating: 2/5

I have had this book on my TBR for so long that I think I imagined that I knew what this was about. So it's not the book's fault that it didn't follow the plot I thought it would This is very much a domestic thriller. I think that the use of dual P.O.Vs helped to build the anticipation, but it did go in the direction I thought it might be going. There were a few surprises along the way, but not enough to shock me the way I thought it would. I would recommend if you're into domestic thrillers and psycho thrillers. 

Thanks for reading,

Sidny

Book Review: Open Season by C.J Box

Title: Open Season

Author: CJ Box

Series/Standalone: Joe Pickett Series (Book #1)

Genre: Mystery, Fiction, Western

Pages: 278

Publisher: Putnam

Year Published: 2001

Format: Audiobook

"Joe Pickett is the new game warden in Twelve Sleep, Wyoming, a town where nearly everyone hunts, and the game warden- especially one like Joe who won't take bribes or look the other way- is far from popular. When he finds a local hunting outfitter dead, splayed out on the woodpile behind his state-owned home, he takes it personally. There had to be a reason that the outfitter, with whom he's had run-ins before, chose his backyard, his woodpile to die in. Even after the 'outfitter murders,' as they have been dubbed by the local press after the discovery of the two more bodies, are solved, Joe continues to investigate, uneasy with the sy explanation offered by the local police.

As Joe digs deeper into the murders, he soon discovers that the outfitter brought more than death to his backdoor; he brought Joe an endangered species, thought to be extinct, which is now living in his woodpile. But if the word of the existence of this endangered species gets out, it will destroy any chance of InterWest, a multi-national natural gas company, building an oil pipeline that would bring the company billions of dollars across Wyoming, through the mountains and forest of Twelve Sleep. The closer Joe comes to the truth behind the outfitter murders, the endangered species and InterWest, the closer he comes to losing everything he holds dear."

DNF @ 58%

My Rating: 1/5

I honestly have no idea why this was on my TBR at all. I thought I knew what I was getting into. I started it, I thought I would like it and the whole time I was just bored. Since Chick-Lit (unfortunately) is still a term we use, this is Boy-Book. This is something I think my friends' dads would like but I wasn't interested in the least. I would not recommend it if you like the style of books I enjoy, but if it intrigues you, you might as well try it!

Thanks for reading,

Sidny