ARC Review: The Other People

 I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book or my review itself.

The setup for this book is my absolute favorite-ten strangers, locked in a house, being killed off one by one, possibly by one of those very strangers.. Add in the mystery of a missing girl, and I was so in.

This book did not disappoint, and definitely lived up to my expectations. There is so much heightened tension and suspense, especially with the countdown to finding the missing girl. The characters are all distinctive, and it is easy to keep them apart, even though there are so many. 

The only thing is the ending closely resembles the ending of a movie that’s a favorite of mine, but I clearly love the ending of the movie so I love the ending of the book. I would definitely recommend this book. Just a heads up that the deaths in this are disturbing, and violent, and that one death in particular may really distress readers (if you want to know more, feel free to contact me). 

ARC Review: Killing Me Soufflé

 I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book or my review itself. 

Jules Capshaw owns and operates Torte, a beautiful bake shop in a beautiful small town. Her family is taking a trip to visit Steph and Sterling, two dear former employees, at their new beachside restaurant. But the new restaurant may be doomed to familiar by the falling apart beach resort linked to it, and that’s even before Jules finds the dead body of the despised manager. 

I really enjoy this cozy mystery series. I love the characters, and I always love the setting, which is why it was a risk to me to change where this particular book took place. But it still worked. If you are looking for a fun, recipe-filled cozy with a good mystery, I would recommend this book. 

ARC Review: You Are Fatally Invited

 I received an ARC of this book from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book or the review itself.

An exclusive invitation to a private manor brings six thriller writers together for what they believe is a writers’ retreat. Instead, they find themselves fighting for their lives through a series of challenges and classic tropes, completely isolated due to a terrible storm. And they haven’t even met their host, who no one has ever actually seen.

Then there’s Mila, hired by their mysterious host to run things. But she secretly has deadly intentions herself towards one of the guests. Suddenly, nothing is going as planned, and Mila is forced to wonder if maybe she’s in the same perilous position as the guests. 

I loved this book. It has so many of my favorite things-isolated manor, mysterious host, guests with secrets from the past who are being picked off one by one and no one knows who is doing it…add in the Mila layer and I was completely sold. I would definitely recommend this book. 

ARC Review: The Meadowbrook Murders

 I received an ARC of this book from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book or my review itself.

When Amy’s best friend and best friend’s boyfriend are murdered in the boarding school room right next to hers while she sleeps, Amy becomes the prime suspect. She reluctantly joins up with Liz, a determined and driven journalist on the school paper, to figure out just who the murderer truly is.

I really enjoyed this book. I have read some of Goodman’s books before and really enjoyed them as well. This one has a great mystery as the set up, and the rest of the book really delivers. Liz and Amy are really complex characters and very strong young women, and you can’t help but cheer for them. I had a particularly good time with guessing the murderer just a few chapters before the reveal, which means the book was good enough to fool me for a long time, while also being good enough to have enough clues for me to follow. I would recommend this book. 

ARC Review: The Queens of Crime

 I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book or my review itself.

Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham, Baroness Emma Orczy, and Dorothy L. Sayers are five incredible female mystery writers in the 1930s. Treated by their male mystery writer counterparts as lesser, the women set out to prove themselves by solving a real life unsolved crime.

This was a great book. First of all, the main characters being famous mystery writers, in particular Agatha Christie, was such a clever and fun idea. I loved learning more about these authors, and seeing them solve a mystery. The mystery took a real life murder and solved it, and the solution scene was captivating. I don’t typically read historical fiction, but this book was more than worth my while. I would recommend this book. 

ARC Review: The Last Room on the Left

 I received an ARC of this book from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book or my review itself.

Kerry is going to be a caretaker at an Instagram-worthy motel. She hopes this will help her get her life back together, and that she will finally finish that first book she owes her publisher. But when Kerry thinks she sees a body out in the snow, her goals quickly change.

I enjoyed this book. The various POVs were a great way to find out what happened, and the characters themselves were all unique and intriguing. The motel and what surrounded it were almost like their own character. The suspense built up in a really compelling way, and I did not see the twists and turns coming. I would recommend this book. 

ARC Review: The Weekend Guests

 I received an ARC of this book from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book or my review itself.

Five college friends reunite after time apart, seemingly to simply reconnect. But there is a darker undertone, a crime from the past that is threatening to resurface, punishment promised by mysterious postcards.

This was a very suspenseful book. I honestly never saw the ending coming. The characters are all highly unlikeable (except the children), but that seems to be the point. This is not a group to root for, even while you as a reader are so involved in their lives. I wouldn’t recommend the characters as friends, but I would recommend this book.

ARC Review: She Doesn’t Have a Clue

 I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book or my review itself.

Kate Valentine is a best selling author of the Loretta mysteries, staying in a very old mansion on an isolated island to witness her ex-fiancée get married to another woman. And she has writer’s block. Plus a very hot Australian has just wandered back into her life. Oh, and there’s been an attempted murder. And a murder. 

Needless to say, her life is pretty complicated right now.

I loved this book. It’s funny, spicy, romantic, and suspenseful, with a great mystery. The characters are all really unique, and Kate is so compelling and endearing as a realistic main character. I would recommend this book for sure.

ARC Review: The Business Trip

 I received an ARC of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book or my review itself.

Stephanie and Jasmine meet on a plane. 

Then they both vanish. 

Both their disappearances are blamed on a man named Trent McCarthy.

What really happened?

I really enjoyed how this book messed with my mind. Just when I thought I had something figured out, another twist would come and change everything. Looking back, all the twists made sense too-until I got to the end. Some of the end seemed too far fetched for me, despite it making for a very dramatic finale. I would give this book 3.5 stars. If you don’t mind an out of left field ending, the rest of the book is quite good. 

ARC Review: Sweet Fury

I received a copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my opinion or influence the review itself.

Lila Crane is the Julia Roberts of this story, an actress beloved by all. Her fiancé, Kurt Royal, lives up to his last name, making movies everyone adores. But this, their feminist adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Tender is the Night, is set to be their magnum opus. Lila even starts seeing a therapist, Jonah Gabriel, to help her truly prepare herself. But there are secrets and hidden dangers everywhere…

This is a deep book that, while being a psychological thriller of sorts (perhaps more suspense?), also tackles very deep issues: how women are treated compared to men, what is expected of women, what justice truly is…all while being a story that keeps you turning pages desperate to know what’s next. I would recommend this book.