Tag: fiction

Book Review: The Listeners, by Maggie Stiefvater  

Image belongs to Penguin Group/Viking.

Title: The Listeners  
Author: Maggie Stiefvater        
Genre: Historical fiction   
Rating: 4 out of 5

January 1942. The Avallon Hotel & Spa has always offered elegant luxury in the wilds of West Virginia, its mountain sweetwater washing away all of high society’s troubles.

Local girl-turned-general manager June Porter Hudson has guided the Avallon skillfully through the first pangs of war. The Gilfoyles, the hotel’s aristocratic owners, have trained her well. But when the family heir makes a secret deal with the State Department to fill the hotel with captured Axis diplomats, June must persuade her staff—many of whom have sons and husbands heading to the front lines—to offer luxury to Nazis. With a smile.

Meanwhile FBI Agent Tucker Minnick, whose coal tattoo hints at an Appalachian past, presses his ears to the hotel’s walls, listening for the diplomats’ secrets. He has one of his own, which is how he knows that June’s balancing act can have dangerous consequences: the sweetwater beneath the hotel can threaten as well as heal.

June has never met a guest she couldn’t delight, but the diplomats are different. Without firing a single shot, they have brought the war directly to her. As clashing loyalties crack the Avallon’s polished veneer, June must calculate the true cost of luxury.

I love Maggie Stiefvater’s YA books, so I was really looking forward to reading this. The world of the Avallon was fascinating to me! This whole ecosystem contained in this building with the lives of everyone who works there completely contained inside the walls. Fascinating.

The characters were interesting people, and I enjoyed getting to know them. I had no idea what was going on with the sweetwater, but I was invested in finding out! This felt almost leisurely, but it was a compelling read.

Maggie Stiefvater is a bestselling author. The Listeners is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Penguin Group/Viking in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: A Forgery of Fate, by Elizabeth Lim

Image belongs to Random House Children’s.

Website:

Title: A Forgery of Fate
Author: Elizabeth Lim         
Genre: YA, fantasy  
Rating: 5 out of 5

Truyan Saigas didn’t choose to become a con artist, but after her father is lost at sea, it’s up to her to support her mother and two younger sisters. A gifted art forger, Tru has the unique ability to paint the future, but even such magic is not enough to put her family back together again, or stave off the gangsters demanding payment in blood for her mother’s gambling debts.

Left with few options, Tru agrees to a marriage contract with a mysterious dragon lord. He offers a fresh start for her mother and sisters and elusive answers about her father’s disappearance, but in exchange, she must join him in his desolate undersea palace. And she must assist him in a plot to infiltrate the tyrannical Dragon King’s inner circle, painting a future so treasonous, it could upend both the mortal and immortal realms. . . .

This was such a good read! I liked Tru from the beginning, and loved getting to know her. Her sisters were great, too, but I didn’t really like her mother. The world was unique and I enjoyed getting to explore it through Tru’s eyes. (I did have a few quibbles with how easy living and breathing underwater was handles, but I can let that go. The turtles and other undersea characters were fun, and I’d love to read more set in this world.

Elizabeth Lim lives in New York City. A Forgery of Fate is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Random House Children’s in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: Tell Me Something Good, by Court Stevens   

Image belongs to Harper Muse Audiobooks.

Title: Tell Me Something Good (audio)
Author: Court Stevens         
Genre: Mystery/thriller   
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

This is a story of the rich and the very poor. This is a story of an illegal auction with dire consequences. This is a story of murders past and present. This is a story of intertwined relationships and the silent ripples they leave behind, where love becomes a guiding force, revealing the lengths one will go to protect those they cherish.

Over twenty years ago, a young hunting guide in rural Kentucky was driving his boat in the early morning mist when his peaceful cruise was cut short by a scene so disturbing, he packed up and moved away. Nine women died early that morning, but it was linked to a similar crime in Texas, so the locals quickly wrote it off as having nothing to do with them.

Now, all these years later, when everyone has nearly forgotten about that grisly part of their past, one man’s accidental death will bring everything back up to the surface. The locals who knew better can no longer claim it had nothing to do with them, and one woman, desperate to do whatever it takes to save her mother’s life, will learn that nearly everyone in her life has been lying to her.

The narrator on this did a good job, but I didn’t really like the voice of the story. So many secrets. So many missed opportunities to speak up and avert all kinds of nonsense. But no, the characters refuse to talk to each other. About anything. This didn’t work for me on a lot of levels, and I didn’t really connect with any of the characters—except maybe the donkey. I think this book just wasn’t a good fit for me.

Court Stevens is from Kentucky. Tell Me Something Good is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Harper Muse Audiobooks in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: The Other Side of Now, by Paige Harbison  

Image belongs to St. Martin’s Press.

Title: The Other Side of Now
Author: Paige Harbison         
Genre: Fiction   
Rating: 4 out of 5 

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 doesn’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.

I can’t even imagine how confusing it would be to wake up in this situation! Meg’s rich and famous life sounds pretty horrible to me, so I can believe her wanting out. Her life in Ireland sounded amazing to me, so I can’t imagine wanting out of that. This was a story that kept me intrigued all along. I liked the characters, and I loved the quirky small town she ended up in—and I’m almost never a fan of small towns! I loved the character growth in this and Meg came to terms with her past and everything that happened.

Paige Harbison lives in L.A. The Other Side of Now is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of t. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

What I Read in May (2025)

Books Read in  May: 21
Books Read for the Year:  107/225
Topical Books/Monthly Goal Books:

The Winter Sea, by Susanna Kearsley (TBR): This was such a good read!
The Art of Starting Over, by Heidi McLaughlin (TBR): This was an okay read, but felt very predictable.
River Road, by Charles Martin (TBR): Really enjoyed these essays!
Magic in the Shadows, by Devon Monk (re-read): Loving re-reading this series. I forgot about Stone.
The Opposite of Everyone, by Joshilyn Jackson (TBR, audio): I love Jackson’s books, but Paula was not a nice or good person. I didn’t care for her.
Closer than You Know, by Debra Webb. Solid thriller read. I’m liking this series.
For Review:

Bodies and Battlements, by Elizabeth Penney. That was a decent cozy mystery read, but the characters felt very surface level and undeveloped. It is the first in a series, so I assume that would change in further books.

Come As You Are, by Dahlia Adler. This was a cute, fun YA read. Nothing totally unexpected, but I enjoyed the read and the characters.

The Courage to Change, by Joyce Meyer.  Joyce Meyer is a solid author–and speaker–so I knew this would be a good read. And it did not disappoint!

The Other Side of Now, by Paige Harbison. This wasn’t quite what I expected, but I enjoyed the read! I liked the characters, and the juxtaposition between the two realities was interesting.

A Forgery of Fate, by Elizabeth Lim. I really enjoyed this read! Unique setting, and I love the worldbuilding and setting so much.

Tell Me Something Good, by Court Stevens. I listened to the audiobook, and I think maybe this just wasn’t a good fit for me, storywise. I didn’t like the characters and found them all pretty horrible. The narrator was excellent, I just didn’t like these people.

The Listeners, by Maggie Stiefvater. I’m a pretty big fan of Stiefvater’s YA books, and I was excited to read this. It wasn’t quite what I expected, but I enjoyed it all the same.

A First Time for Everything, by K. L. Walther. This was a solid YA read. I enjoyed it for the most part.

The Summer That Changed Everything, by Brenda Novak. This was a meh read. I found it bland and predictable.

A Far Better Thing, by H. G. Parry. This was a fantasy re-telling of A Tale of Two Cities. It felt very leisurely and I didn’t really care for the MC, but it was a solid read.

Rewind to Us, by Molly Morris. This was such a cute read! I loved the characters—all of them—and the premise was great.

The Ex-Girlfriend Murder Club, by Gloria Chao. This was such a comedy of errors! Very funny, with a nice twist.

Best of All Worlds, by Kenneth Oppel. This was mediocre at best. The author’s political/personal bias was glaringly on display…most white people are apparently evil in his mind, not to mention narrow-minded, backwards, and prone to conspiracy theories.

Look Before You Leap, by Virginia Heath. This was a cute romance read. I liked the female a lot.

A Magic Deep and Drowning, by Hester Fox. I enjoyed the beginning of this, but then it felt like it dragged and nothing made sense.

Left Unfinished:

Sing Me Home to Carolina, by Joy Calloway. The MC got on every nerve I had, and all the characters seemed like flimsy caricatures.

We Can Never Leave, by H.E. Edgmon. These characters seemed like very hateful and unpleasant people, and I stopped reading very quickly because of it.

A Most Puzzling Murder, by Bianca Marais. There was A LOT going on here and it did not mesh into a cohesive storyline.

Writing Mr. Right, by Alina Khawaja. I tried. I read about 35% of this before giving up. Aashiq was too…honestly, he felt a little too ridiculous to be real, and Ziya was so closed off to everyone and everything that she got on my nerves. Strong writing, but this just wasn’t a good fit for me.

The Ripple Effect, by Maggie North. This MC wasn’t for me.

Off Menu, by Amy Rosen. The cover on this is gorgeous, and it sounded great. Unfortunately, the MC is vapid and lacking in morals, so it’s a no for me.

Book Review: Come As You Are, by Dahlia Adler

Image belongs to St. Martin’s Press.

Title: Come As You Are  
Author: Dahlia Adler          
Genre: YA
Rating: 4 out of 5 

Hot on the heels of a broken heart, Everett “Evie” Riley arrives at Camden Academy ready for a new beginning – one far away from her cheating ex-boyfriend, the sister who stole him, and the best friend who let it happen. But her fresh start is stopped in its tracks when she’s accidentally placed in an all-boys dorm, with no choice but to stay.

When rumors and gossip about Evie’s housing predicament spread like wildfire, she decides the only way to survive is to lean into her questionable new reputation… but she’s definitely going to require help. Her grumpy emo dorm mate Salem Grayson isn’t exactly her first choice, but he does need her help to repair his relationship with his parents every bit as much as she needs his to learn how to be cool. And so they make a pact – he’ll teach her how to be bad, if she teaches him how to be good.

It’s a flawless plan, except while Salem thrives academically, even romantically, and – annoyingly enough – even physically, Evie’s quest feels like one dead end after another, and the girl she’s becoming certainly doesn’t feel remotely cool. But when Evie realizes what she wants more than anything, she’ll have to contend with her thrice-broken heart and figure out how to become someone capable of chasing happiness.

I thought this was a cute read! I liked Evie and Salem a lot, and even the secondary characters were fun (except Archie and Lucas). There were surprisingly-few Mean Girls moments which I liked. Some of the diversity bits felt shoehorned in there, not like they belonged in the story, but for the most part, this was a solid read with some really funny moments and a lot of character growth.

Dahlia Adler lives in New York. Come As You Are is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: Bodies and Battlements, by Elizabeth Penney

Image belongs to St. Martin’s Press.

Title: Bodies and Battlements  
Author: Elizabeth Penney        
Genre: Mystery/thriller    
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Herbalist Nora Asquith is delighted to welcome Ravensea Castle’s first guests to the picturesque village of Monkwell, Yorkshire. After a thousand years of ownership, her family has decided to convert the castle into a bed and breakfast. But when Hilda Dibble, a self-appointed local luminary, is found dead in the knot garden the next morning, Nora’s business is not only at risk—she’s a prime suspect.

Hilda had opposed the hotel plan every step of the way, and although she didn’t succeed in stopping the venture, her disagreements with Nora seem to only further her motive. One of Ravensea’s guests happens to be Detective Inspector Finlay Cole, who is new to the area and now finds himself with a murder case in his lap.

Nora and her actress sister Tamsyn decide to investigate for themselves. They look into the entangled dealings of their newly arrived guests, while also getting hints from Sir Percival, one of the castle ghosts. As they learn, Sir Percival’s tragic death centuries ago sheds light on present-day crimes. Surely they can get to the bottom of this mystery while keeping their new business afloat . . .

This was a decent cozy mystery read, but nothing standout enough to keep me highly invested in continuing the series, if that makes sense. I didn’t feel like the characters were well-developed enough to carry a series, but that should grow with time. Like the each had one quirk that made them interesting, but were otherwise bland. So, a decent read, but not a great read.

Elizabeth Penney grew up in Maine. Bodies and Battlements is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: Our Last Wild Days, by Anna Bailey

Image belongs to Atria Books.

Title: Our Last Wild Days
Author: Anna Bailey
Genre: Mystery/thriller   
Rating: 4 out of 5

 The Labasques aren’t like other families.

Living in a shack out in the swamps, they made do by hunting down alligators and other animals. To the good people of Jacknife, Louisiana, they are troublemakers and outcasts, the kind of people you wouldn’t want in your community.

So, when Cutter Labasque is found face down in the muddy swamp, no one seems to care, not even her two brothers. The only person who questions the official verdict of suicide is Cutter’s childhood friend, Loyal May, who has just returned home to care for her mother. When she left town at eighteen years old, she betrayed Cutter. Now with a ragtag group from the local paper where she works, Loyal goes in search of answers, uncovering a web of deceit and corruption that implicates those in town. It may be too late to apologize to Cutter, but Loyal has restitution in mind.

I didn’t like any of these characters except maybe Sasha—and what was up with the staples in his hair? Excellent setting description and worldbuilding here…enough that the small town feel almost made me nauseous. Seriously. A place this tiny and run down is a no for me. I don’t really feel like there was any resolution with the whistling/masks in the woods or the dirty cops, so the ending felt a bit unresolved to me, and Loyal wasn’t likable enough for me to get truly invested in this story.

Anna Bailey is the author of Our Last Wild Days.

(Galley courtesy of Atria Books in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: Their Double Lives, by Jaime Lynn Hendricks   

Image belongs to Penzler Publishers/Scarlet.

Title: Their Double Lives
Author: Jaime Lynn Hendricks         
Genre: Mystery/thriller   
Rating: 4 out of 5

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…

I was kind of ambivalent about these characters. I didn’t love them, didn’t really hate them (except maybe Anthony’s boss’s wife). The dog was probably the best character of all. The level of duplicity in these people was next level, and if this hadn’t been such a quick read, I’d have put it down just because of that. There were lots of twists and turns here, but I did figure out who The Stranger was before the reveal. A solid read—if you don’t need characters you love.

Jaime Lynn Hendricks lives in Florida. Their Double Lives is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Penzler Publishers/Scarlet in exchange for an honest review.)

Book Review: Heart of the Sun, by Mia Sheridan

Image belongs to Harlequin/Canary Street Press.

Title: Heart of the Sun
Author: Mia Sheridan
Genre: Romance, fantasy
Rating: 4 out of 5

When the world is plunged into darkness, who would you turn to?

Amid the sun-drenched orange groves of California, childhood friends Tuck Mattice and Emily Swanson shared a bond that seemed unbreakable—until life ripped them apart.

Thirteen years later, Emily is a rising pop sensation in need of security, and Tuck, a brooding ex-con, is in need of a fresh start. When fate brings them together once again, Emily hires him on as her new bodyguard. They butt heads and bicker, just like the old days—yet neither can deny the heat rekindling between them.

But when a cataclysmic solar flare disrupts the electrical grid, society is suddenly plunged into chaos and darkness. For Emily, the familiar comforts of fame and fortune crumble, but for Tuck, this stark new reality could be the chance he needs to finally prove himself. As they come to terms with all they’ve lost and the bitterness that’s kept them apart, they must find their way back to one another and discover a new place, under the sun.

I enjoyed this read, although the childhood scenes did not make it seem like Tuck and Emily “shared a bond that seemed unbreakable.” It just seemed like the barely tolerated each other. I generally like dystopian novels, so I enjoyed that part, although Tuck and Emily seem much more trusting of people they meet than I would have been. This was a solid read, but I never really felt the characters were in danger.

Mia Sheridan is a bestselling author. Heart of the Sun is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Harlequin/Canary Street Press in exchange for an honest review.)