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Showing posts from August, 2022

Book Review: Finlay Donovan Rolls The Dice (Finlay Donovan, #4) by Elle Cosimano

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Finlay Donovan Rolls The Dice (Finlay Donovan, #4)  by Elle Cosimano opens with Finlay Donovan and her nanny, Vero, planning a trip to Atlantic City to pay off some debts, find Javi, and retrieve a stolen car.  But first, they come up with a cover story that backfires miserably.  Finlay and Vero have to be clever and sneaky to accomplish what they set out to do, but will they have to come clean? Thank you, NetGalley, for the Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of Finlay Donovan Rolls The Dice (Finlay Donovan, #4) by Elle Cosimano.  This is one of the books I was most excited about being able to read before it was in stores.  I received the eBook for free in exchange for my honest review. The fourth installment picks up where the last book ended and ties up the loose ends from Finlay Donovan Knocks Them Dead (Finlay Donovan, #3)  . . . so much so that I thought that this was going to be the last book in the series.  However, Finlay Donovan Rolls The Dice ends up having a couple of cliffhangers,
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Book Review: Kindred by Octavia E. Butler

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Kindred by Octavia E. Butler is the first science fiction novel written by a Black woman and is part memoir, part fantasy, and part historical fiction. The book opens with Dana, an African American woman in 1976 Los Angeles, California, who is transported back to 1815 Maryland and saves a drowning white boy.  However, she finds herself fearing for her life when the boys father, a slave owner, is pointing his shotgun at her. This is a novel that was selected by the book club I belong to for our September Book Club Meeting.  I had heard of Kindred but had no idea what it was about.  I don't read a lot of science fiction because I typically don't enjoy it.  However, I was pleasantly surprised how intriguing the story was, and it sucked me in from the start. Well-written.  Engaging.  Unputdownable.  These are just some of the words that I'd use to describe Octavia E. Butler's Kindred .  I find myself still thinking about the book long after finishing it.  The characters w
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Book Review: The Nanny by Ruth Heald

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The Nanny by Ruth Heald opens with Hayley Taylor hurrying to pick her daughter up from school and is keeping a secret from her husband.  Hayley was a nanny in Thailand during her gap year, and one of the children disappeared.  When a potential lodger shows up to view the room for rent and looks like the kid who went missing when Hayley was a nanny, her whole world just may come crashing down around her. First and foremost, I'd like to thank NetGalley and Bookoutre for the Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of The Nanny by Ruth Heald.  I was intrigued by the synopsis and cover of the novel, and I was not disappointed in the least. Switching back and forth from the present and past, The Nanny weaved a thrilling story that kept me on the edge of my seat.  There were a lot of twists and turns that threw me for a loop, and I was completely wrong in what I thought was going to happen.   Had it not been a work night, I would have stayed up until the wee hours of the night to finish this book.
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Book Review: A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle, Retold by Alex Woolf

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A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle and retold by Alex Woolf was adapted for young readers and is the first book in the Sherlock Holmes book series.  The main two characters, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson, meet for the first time and solve their very first mystery. I'd like to thank Arcturus Publishing and NetGalley for the Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Alex Woolf.  Not having read the original story written by Arthur Conan Doyle, I have nothing to compare the retelling to, but Alex Woolf does a phenomenal job in rewriting this story for children in a way that they'll understand.  The illustrations are amazing and a great contribution to the story.  I think this retelling will encourage children to read more.  I know I would have loved reading this in elementary school. It has definitely piqued my interest in reading the series as originally told and compare it to Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot series as I defi
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Book Review: Two Nights in Lisbon by Chris Pavone

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Two Nights in Lisbon by Chris Pavone is about a woman named Ariel Pryce waking up alone in her Lisbon hotel room, and her husband is no where to be found in the hotel.  Panicking, Ariel reaches out to the local police and the American Embassy, but they aren't of much help.  Who would want to harm her husband? First and foremost, I'd like to thank NetGalley for the Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of Two Nights in Lisbon by Chris Pavone in exchange for my honest review.  I was excited to receive this book, especially since I'm a fan of the author's writing. Chris Pavone weaved an intriguing story in Two Nights in Lisbon that had twists and turns galore that left me guessing until the very end.  I found myself rooting for the main character and loved the fact that all the loose ends were wrapped up so there were no cliffhangers.  I enjoyed the fact that the storyline switched back and forth between the present and past . . . making this novel a bit of a slow burn.   There w
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Book Review: Finlay Donovan is Killing It (Finlay Donovan, #1) by Elle Cosimano

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Finlay Donovan is Killing It (Finlay Donovan, #1) by Elle Cosimano opens with a stressed out single mother of two named Finlay Donovan, and her babysitter is a no show.  Finlay meets with her book editor, and when they are overheard discussing the plot line of the book, Finlay is mistaken as a contract killer and accepts an offer to kill someone's husband inadvertently. This novel was chosen as the August read for the book club I belong to.  I knew this book was a popular book but not one I would have picked up on my own despite it being in my favorite genre.  I struggled with the first 125 or 150 pages of Finlay Donovan is Killing It because the premise of the book was so far fetched.  It was almost a "Did Not Finish" for me, but I didn't want to show up without finishing the book. With that being said, I was happy that I finished the book because there were parts that I ended up enjoying, but I'm not sure why people thought this book was funny.  It was a extre
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Book Review: Game On Tempting Twenty-Eight (Stephanie Plum, #28) by Janet Evanovich

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Game On: Tempting Twenty-Eight (Stephanie Plum, #28) by Janet Evanovich is the latest edition in the Stephanie Plum book series and opens with Stephanie being awoken by footsteps in her apartment.  Turns out that it's Diesel, and he's looking for the same person Stephanie is looking for . . . Oswald Wednesday, an international computer hacker.  Stephanie doesn't know if Diesel is on her team or looking for a competition in apprehending the suspect. Once again, this latest edition in the Stephanie Plum book series feels ghost written.  Not that there's ever a lot of cursing in these books . . . Lula is usually the only one who does . . . but when all the characters start using the phrase, "Stick a fork in me", it just doesn't seem like anything any of the characters would say.  There were other character inconsistencies that I can't recall off the top of my head, but it definitely detracted from the story. With that being said, I loved that the story
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Book Review: Murder On The Class Trip (Maya and Sandra Mystery, #3) by Lee Hollis

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Murder on the Class Trip (Maya and Sandra Mystery, #3) by Lee Hollis opens in Portland, Maine where Maya Kendrick and Sandra Wallage are enlisted by their kid's teacher to chaperone the class trip to Washington, D.C.  When the intern for Sandra's soon to be ex-husband Stephen turns up dead in the senator's apartment, the moms struggle to juggle their chaperoning responsibilities and solving the murder to acquit Senator Stephen Wallage. First and foremost, thank you to NetGalley for the Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of Murder on the Class Trip (Maya and Sandra Mystery, #3) by Lee Hollis.  I was delighted to receive this book for free in exchange for my honest review.  I was intrigued by the synopsis of Murder on the Class Trip by Lee Hollis because politics intrigue me, and I enjoyed visiting Washington, D.C. several years ago, so I was excited to receive an ARC of this book. This novel isn't the first book I've read by this author, and it certainly won't be the
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Book Review: The Hunter by Jennifer Herrera

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The Hunter by Jennifer Herrera opens with NYPD Detective Leigh O'Donnell going back to her hometown of Copper Falls, Ohio to investigate three suspicious drownings in her hometown in hopes that it will help get her career back on track in New York City. I'd like to thank NetGalley and G.P. Putnam's Sons for the Advanced Readers Copy (ARC) of The Hunter by Jennifer Herrera. I was thrilled and honored to be one of the people chosen to review this book before publication. At first, I wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy The Hunter because it was a bit slow. However, after a few chapters, the pace of the storyline picked up, which made it hard for me to put down the book. I thoroughly enjoyed all of the twists and turns along with the red herrings.  One thing is for sure, I didn't see the ending coming, and that says a lot since I read a ton of books in the mystery, thriller, suspense, and horror genres. The main character of Leigh was written well and is very relatab
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